Jim Farrington teaches Licensing Transactions at the University of Notre Dame Law School and IP and Business Law for Entrepreneurs at the ESTEEM Program. He is a retired partner at Wiggin and Dana, a 150-lawyer firm with offices in Connecticut, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. His practice included commercial business transactions, especially acquisitions, joint ventures, licensing, and other technology transfer transactions for primarily biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies.
After graduating with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Notre Dame, Farrington worked as an engineering and product manager for nearly nine years in the air pollution control field. He received his law degree with high honors from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Before joining Wiggin and Dana, Farrington was a partner in the New York City office of Mannheimer Swartling, Sweden's largest law firm.
For each of the last several years before his retirement, he was recognized by national and international organizations for his life science transactions expertise, including PLC/Global Counsel, Chambers Europe, The Best Lawyers in America for Biotechnology Law, and as a "Life Science Star" for mergers and acquisitions and licensing and collaboration by LMG Life Sciences, a Euromoney publication. LMG honored him with its Hall of Fame award for his lifetime achievement in life science transactions.
Jim shares some insight into his professional journey and offers advice to ESTEEM Students.
ESTEEM: What is a surprising or unconventional lesson you’ve learned in your professional journey?
Jim: I often describe my career through what I call two “leaps of faith.” I’m a pretty cautious person—being both an engineer and a lawyer makes you doubly cautious—but there were moments in my life when I had to move forward without knowing whether I would succeed.
The first was leaving engineering to go to law school. I was doing well, making good money, getting promotions, and then I gave it all up to start law school without knowing if it would work out. Most law students came from backgrounds like political science or history, and I came from engineering, so I was nervous. But I did well, built a career that combined my technical and legal background, and it turned into a great 35-year career, followed by teaching.
The second leap was about family. I was working at a law firm in New York City, commuting three hours a day and earning good money. I remember a mentor telling me, shortly before his daughter’s wedding, that he didn’t really know her because he had worked constantly. I decided that would not happen to me. I moved to a firm closer to home in Connecticut, took a big pay cut, and my wife and I adjusted our lifestyle. In return, I went to every doctor’s visit, soccer game, and recital. You can never get that time back—it’s priceless. Eventually my compensation recovered, but it was something very important for our family.
ESTEEM: Can you share a pivotal moment in your career when you took a risk or embraced uncertainty, and what you learned from it?
Jim: This overlaps with those leaps of faith, but one key moment was leaving the practice of a mentor I had worked under and eventually alongside. He had a very strong legal practice representing Swedish companies, and I wasn’t sure I had the confidence to go forward without him—to build client relationships and develop business on my own.
It took self-reflection and encouragement, especially from my wife, but I moved forward. It turned out to be a great experience. My practice actually grew more when I stepped out on my own rather than continuing to follow him, and it became a major turning point in my career.
ESTEEM: If you were a student starting the ESTEEM program this year, what would you make sure to focus on learning or doing?
Jim: Many ESTEEM students come from strong STEM backgrounds, but don’t always have the same exposure to business fundamentals. I would focus on areas like finance, accounting, marketing, sales, and human resource management—skills that are essential in entrepreneurial or startup environments. Even while working on capstone projects, I wouldn’t lose sight of those foundations.
Networking is also critical. It’s not just walking around handing out business cards—it’s a long-term process. Relationships take time, and sometimes opportunities come years later, not immediately. Your network should include classmates, professors, and people you meet throughout your career. Much of my own practice was built through referrals and relationships.
And I would emphasize artificial intelligence. I came to it later, but it’s clearly the future. Students need to understand not only how to use AI but how it will shape business and professional work. It won’t necessarily replace people, but expectations will change—people will be expected to work more efficiently and deliver higher quality results. Those who don’t understand AI risk falling behind.
ESTEEM: What do you personally learn from working with ESTEEM/Notre Dame students year after year?
Jim: I always learn from students. Teaching was my third career, and I try every year to become a better teacher. If students don’t learn something, I see that as my responsibility to improve how I teach it. Recently, students have pushed me to use AI more in my teaching so I don’t fall behind, and that has been valuable.
I’m also consistently impressed by how accomplished Notre Dame students are today. When I compare them to my own generation at that age, it’s remarkable how much they’ve achieved. At the same time, it raises the standard for competition going forward.
I came back to Notre Dame because I love the university. To me, Notre Dame is more than a school—it’s a lifelong family and professional network. I try to encourage students to embrace that, and I’m always pleased to see how strongly they do.
ESTEEM: If you had one piece of advice for students striving to make an impact, what would it be?
Jim: Sometimes opportunities come with sacrifice and may not seem appealing at first, but they can have long-term impact. Early in my engineering career, I worked in the Mojave Desert helping start a power plant pollution control system under tough conditions. It required giving up comfort and other opportunities, but I became an expert quickly, and that shaped future steps in my career, including later work with Swedish companies.
Later, as a lawyer, I relocated to Sweden for what was supposed to be six weeks but turned into two years. It became the most complex deal of my legal career and an important experience for my family. My children were influenced by that experience later in their own lives. Opportunities often require sacrifice, but they can pay off in both professional and personal ways.
ESTEEM: From your experience, what traits do the most successful or impactful people share?
Jim: One trait is humility—not being full of yourself, but focusing on the client or the customer. A mentor of mine had very high emotional intelligence and focused on understanding what clients needed rather than promoting himself. He was practical and solution-oriented.
I also learned that success often comes from creating win-win outcomes rather than trying to defeat the other side. In business and collaboration, both parties need to feel satisfied at the end.
Finally, priorities matter. Some people prioritize money, but I always prioritized family. Material things come and go, but relationships and memories remain, and those are what matter most to me.
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