In Memoriam: Frank E. Farella (1929-2025)
Farella Braun + Martel mourns firm founder Frank Farella, who passed away peacefully at the age of 95 on a beautiful spring Sunday afternoon, surrounded by family.
Frank was an integral part of the firm family and was loved by all. He was widely known for his passion for professional excellence and unrivaled energy and commitment to mentoring young lawyers, as well as his dedication and love for the firm, its employees, his clients, and the practice of law in general.
Frank was born on August 14, 1929 in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Gresham and Portland, Oregon. As a child of Italian immigrants growing up during the Great Depression, Frank’s first job was at the age of eight, stacking produce at a nearby market.
While young Frank aspired to be a football coach or rancher, his strong mother had weightier ideas. He started his university life at Oregon State, where he played football and set records on the track team. Ultimately, his studies took him to San Francisco State College (B.A., 1951) and Stanford Law School (L.L.B., 1954). It was in the Bay Area that he met Barbara Dawson with whom he would have four children while residing in San Rafael.
A distinguished lawyer, Frank built a diverse practice in corporate, financial, and international transactions. In 1962, he co-founded Elke, Farella and Braun with Tom Elke and Jerry Braun, two fellow Stanford Law School classmates. With Tom’s departure and the addition of John Martel, the firm became Farella, Braun and Martel LLP – three attorneys with a small office on San Francisco’s Pine Street and one shared, hard-working and much-loved secretary.
By the 1970s, the firm had grown and moved to the top floors of the 31-story Russ Building in the heart of S.F.’s Financial District where Frank’s work was increasingly focused on hotels, restaurants and wine businesses. As the wine business grew, he found himself at the center of many transactions and growth strategies, including a long-time association with Robert Mondavi and his family. Farella Braun + Martel is now a full-service firm with 120 attorneys, over 200 employees, and a top-tier national reputation.
With a love of wine, Frank was a key player in the growth of Napa Valley as a world-renowned wine market. In fact, Frank, along with his son Tom, was instrumental in establishing the Coombsville AVA, a Napa Valley appellation with a wide range of elevations, known for its cooler, marine-influenced climate.
It was in the Coombsville AVA that Frank’s early dreams of ranching morphed into a long-sought goal of growing his own fine wine grapes. In 1985, he founded Farella-Park Vineyards in a small, 400-square-foot winery next to his house in Napa. Frank’s son Tom took over the winemaking process, then known as Farella Vineyards, in 1991.
Throughout his life and career, Frank had an uncanny knack for having business relationships that were also close friendships. His passion for food and wine was closely tied to his love for warm, convivial and spirited times around the dinner table, where he was often the life of the party. There was a seamlessness to these connections, and he greatly valued the time and the people with whom he surrounded himself. He was truly one of a kind.
Farella Braun + Martel Co-Managing Partner Karen Kimmey, a long-time colleague of Frank, offered the following reflection:
“All of us who knew Frank, and all of us who are privileged to work at this firm that bears his imprint, have benefited from his many contributions. He lived life with passion and charisma, lending his intellectual firepower and dedication to all his pursuits – from representing his clients to making award-winning wine to charming all with stories and songs at the legendary parties at his beautiful vineyard. Frank’s zeal for life is unmatched, and he leaves a great legacy of how life can be lived with a full heart and endless desire.”
Frank is survived by his wife Amy, his children, Elizabeth, Anne, Tom and Bill, and his two grandchildren, Daisy and Gabriel.