Jessica L. Farmer

Jessica Farmer is an experienced trial attorney in Holland & Knight's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice in the firm's Washington, D.C., office. Ms. Farmer has a diverse federal and state court litigation and international arbitration practice, representing clients in complex commercial disputes, in a wide array of matters involving breach of contract, allegations of fraud, real estate disputes, purported class actions, product liability and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including litigation involving employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).

Ms. Farmer has experience prosecuting and defending claims to verdict in federal and state courts. Ms. Farmer excels in managing litigation strategy, successfully navigating complicated discovery, taking and defending depositions, arguing motions and negotiating settlements.

Ms. Farmer's recent representative experiences include:

• representing an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor in a multibillion-dollar arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arising out of the construction of a mega infrastructure project
• representing a privatized military housing operator defending against purported class actions alleging mold exposure to residents on U.S. military bases
• member of national counsel team representing a pharmaceutical manufacturer in federal and state mass tort actions
• defending companies and plan service providers with respect to fiduciary and prohibited transaction issues in investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) involving ESOPs
• defending a company and its board of directors in an ERISA putative class action alleging breach of fiduciary duty and engaging in prohibited transactions arising out of a $200 million ESOP transaction
• representing real estate developers in breach of contract litigation
• representing a television distributor in breach of contract litigation with a major programming content provider through trial and subsequent appeal
• representing the manufacturer of an automated parking system in a wrongful death lawsuit
• representing Native American tribes in suits against the U.S. government for breach of funding obligations under self-determination contracts
• defending commercial property owners and construction companies against Fair Housing Act claims and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims

Ms. Farmer also actively provides pro bono representation to veterans in cases involving Military Sexual Trauma (MST) before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and to individuals seeking asylum in the United States. In addition, Ms. Farmer is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and co-chairs the Washington, D.C., office's DEI Committee.