DAYTON and CINCINNATI, OH — [October 3, 2024] – The Benchmark Litigation 2025 Guide once again ranked Faruki PLL as one of Ohio's preeminent litigation firms, naming it one of only 12 firms statewide to receive Benchmark's highly recommended classification. The 2025 edition of Benchmark Litigation includes partners Erin Rhinehart, Jeff Ireland, and Jeff Cox on its list of Ohio "state litigation stars."
Benchmark Litigation is the only publication in the United States that focuses solely on litigation. The selection process involves an eight-month research period, in which the publisher's researchers conduct extensive interviews with litigators and their clients, and an examination of recent casework handled by the firms, with the goal of identifying "the firms and attorneys who have displayed the ability to consistently handle complex, high-stakes cases in multiple jurisdictions."
Erin Rhinehart is Co-Managing Partner of Faruki PLL. Her litigation practice focuses on class action defense, health care related litigation, media and communications law (First Amendment, defamation, privacy, public records, advertising, social media, trademark, and copyright litigation), breach of contract, non-compete, tortious interference, and environmental litigation matters. She has first-chair jury trial experience, and has argued before various appellate courts in Ohio, including the Supreme Court of Ohio. In 2024, Erin was recognized among the inaugural "Women Who Mean Business" honorees by the Dayton Business Journal. Erin has been repeatedly recognized by Benchmark Litigation, Ohio Super Lawyers as a Rising Star and Super Lawyer; as one of the Dayton Business Journal's Power 50; and is a 40 Under 40 honoree and 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame inductee. This year Erin was selected to appear in the 13th edition of Benchmark Top 250 Women in Litigation; she has also been recognized as one of America's Top 100 High Stakes Litigators and America's Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators. For 2020-2024, Erin was named Premier Health Care Lawyer for Dayton – a recognition given to just one health care lawyer per city. Erin has also been repeatedly recognized by BTI Consulting as a Client Service All Star – a recognition given to less than 500 lawyers nationally. She is a past President of the Ohio Women's Bar Association; a former Executive Editor of the ABA's Litigation Journal; and a Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, American Bar Foundation, and Dayton Bar Foundation. In 2023, she received the Florence E. Allen Award for Outstanding Achievement by the Dayton Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, an award that recognizes women attorneys who demonstrate excellence in the legal profession and a strong commitment to public or community service. Erin is also a Board Member of Boys and Girls Club of Dayton, Ohio; and serves on the Executive Committee of the Dayton Bar Association.
Jeff Ireland is one of the founding partners of Faruki PLL and is a frequent mediator and arbitrator. His practice focuses on competitive issues (e.g., trade secrets, antitrust, false advertising, etc.) as well as class actions and employment. For several years Jeff has been recognized as an America's Top 100 High Stakes Litigators by America's Top 100 LLC. Jeff has been recognized each year since its inception by his peers in the Ohio Super Lawyer pool as an Ohio Super Lawyer, rated as one of the top 10 attorneys in Cincinnati, and one of the top 50 in the state. He has been selected repeatedly for Best Lawyers in America®, and named "Lawyer of the Year" on numerous occasions. He is listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business. Jeff completed the Harvard Program on Mediation at Harvard Law School, which trains mediators to successfully resolve disputes by focusing on the development of a common understanding among the parties, an interest-based approach to mediation. He is also a member of the American, Ohio, Dayton, and Cincinnati Bar Associations. He is a past President of the Dayton Bar Association.
Jeff Cox represents clients in a wide array of business and commercial litigation matters, including contract and business torts, technology, privacy and data security, products liability cases, class actions, and trust disputes. He has handled complex disputes in courts across the United States, in matters before the American Arbitration Association, and in investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, the Departments of Justice, and other federal agencies, and various state Attorneys General. Jeff has been recognized repeatedly as a "Best Lawyers in America®" honoree for commercial litigation, as well as antitrust and intellectual property matters, and named a "Lawyer of the Year” for the first time for 2024. He has been recognized as an "Ohio Super Lawyer (Business Litigation)" in each of that program's 20+ years. Jeff is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, is again recognized in "America's Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators®" and is rated "AV Preeminent" by Martindale Hubbell. Jeff is a Fellow of the American, Federal, Ohio State and Dayton Bar Associations. He is a Past President of the Dayton Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Dayton Lawyers Club and the Carl Kessler Inn of Court; he also served several years as Editor of SideBAR, the Federal Bar Association’s litigation newsletter, and on the FBA’s national Government Relations Committee. Jeff has been nominated to serve as the President of the Dayton Bar Association for its 2026-27 term. Jeff is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, and he is a member of the Bar of the State of Ohio, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio and several federal circuit courts of appeals. Jeff is a founding member and the Chair of the Board of Miami Valley Public Media, Inc., the corporate parent of WYSO, the National Public Radio affiliate for west-central/southwest Ohio.
About Faruki+
Faruki PLL is a litigation firm with offices in Dayton and Cincinnati that handles complex disputes, including intellectual property, class actions, competition-based litigation, employment, antitrust, privacy, commercial litigation, and arbitration. You can find Faruki PLL on LinkedIn Twitter at @FarukiMediaLaw. Also, visit the business litigation blog site, for the latest developments in business litigation, intellectual property, data security, communications and media, class actions, and employment.
