Jeffrey S. Behar Partner Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar, LLP Direct: (562) 983-2503 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Download vCard

Jeff Behar is a founding partner of Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar and an experienced trial attorney. He concentrates his practice on aviation, premises, products, municipality defense, professional liability, employment, construction defect, and mass tort litigation.

Mr. Behar was one of the original founders of the law firm in 1991 and currently oversees its business development and management. His clients include many prestigious insurance firms, Fortune 500 companies and nationally recognized corporations.

Mr. Behar received a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA in 1974, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In 1978 he was awarded a J.D. and graduated with honors from Loyola Law School, where he was a recipient of the school's American Jurisprudence Award.

He began his legal career in 1978 as an associate at the firm of Shield & Smith in Los Angeles. In 1982, after four years of practice, he became a partner of the firm and eventually served as a member of the management committee. Joining the State Bar of California in 1978, Mr. Behar is also admitted to practice in U.S. District Court.

After only four years of practice, in 1982 Mr. Behar was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), which requires a minimum of 20 trials to jury verdict. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the California Defense Counsel (CDC) and is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), the International Society of Barristers (ISB), the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.

In 2000, Mr. Behar became the President of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel. In 2007, Mr. Behar was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Mr. Behar has been featured in the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the top business rainmakers in Southern California. In 2001, he was also featured in California Lawyer with respect to a highly publicized trial which received television and news media attention.

Newspaper and legal magazine articles featuring Mr. Behar include:

1. Verdict magazine with respect to his presidency of the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel (2000) [PDF];
2. California Lawyer publication with respect to a news media publicized jury trial on behalf of American Airlines, Inc. (2001) [PDF];
3. Front page profile article from the Los Angeles Daily Journal (2000) [PDF];
4. Article from the Los Angeles Daily Journal concerning another jury trial receiving news coverage (2003) [PDF].

In 2011, Mr. Behar became a co-chairman for the annual ABOTA Masters in Trial program. He has spoken on litigation-related matters to the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers, the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel and the American Society for Industrial Security. His presentations addressed such topics as settlement/mediation/arbitration, mock jury trials, construction defect litigation, shoplifting prevention for retail businesses, security practices/probable cause/detention arrest, and wrongful death damages.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mr. Behar and his wife Lori, together with children Alexander and Mallory, live in Manhattan Beach. Mr. Behar remains an active member of the Virginia Country Club in Long Beach.