John Farrish: On a wing and a prayer
John Farrish is unafraid to step into the unknown. Possibly born out of his love for airplanes but more likely due to his legal expertise, Farrish has jumped in at the deep end of business aviation law. Words: Yves Le Marquand
John Farrish: On a wing and a prayer
John Farrish is unafraid to step into the unknown. Possibly born out of his love for airplanes but more likely due to his legal expertise, Farrish has jumped in at the deep end of business aviation law. Words: Yves Le Marquand
For InFlight Law founder and all-round aviation lover, John Farrish, the day begins bright and early in the gym at 5:30am. After quiet contemplation and prayer for 30 minutes, the kids are off to school by 7:00am and by 9:00am Farrish is at his home office desk “planning the rest of the day and checking on the tail numbers on the ramp outside at KPDK [DeKalb–Peachtree Airport, Georgia]”.
This routine is fairly new, as Farrish only went independent with the launch of Inflight Law in October last year. However, his love of all things aviation has been a lifetime in the making and will no doubt last just as long, not least due to the permanence of the 747-400 tattooed on his arm.
Farrish grew up in Canada underneath one of the flight paths into what he calls CYYZ or Toronto Pearson International Airport. Any sports career was nipped in the bud early as he spent too much time on the playing fields staring up at the jets. Whilst not gazing at airplanes he would have his head stuck between the pages of a legal thriller and that’s what Farrish says first piqued his interest in becoming a lawyer. “But at this point in my career I can solemnly swear that truth is stranger than fiction,” adds Farrish.
The aviation lawyer is not unfamiliar with taking leaps of faith, so independ-ence wasn’t too big a jump for him.
“My first big jump was to leave a national law firm as a newly-minted partner right after the birth of our fourth child, to go full-time into the boom-bust business aviation industry, albeit with one of the largest aircraft brokers in the world (my wife is a saint). At the decision point, I was praying at home for guidance when a Gulfstream buzzed my house. Sometimes God is subtle, other times not.”
You may be surprised but despite an ongoing global pandemic, uncertainty in the political and financial landscapes and with a family to take care of, the toughest part of going solo was giving up the team camaraderie, says Farrish.
“The decision to launch InFlight Law really came over many small steps spanning about six months, all providential.”
Farrish admires the beauty of aircraft too and has been photographing aircraft in his spare time for decades (Instagram: @jfarrish11). Besides planes, Farrish gets great joy from others in the industry. “One of the benefits of being in business aviation is the great people in our industry, particularly here in Atlanta. To that end, I try to eat lunch with a friend and colleague as many days as possible.”
The highlight Farrish looks forward to most is meeting his clients in person, ideally with delivery of their aircraft. “It was once thought I was joking on a CJI Town Hall about accompanying an aircraft to closing (‘Lawyers don't get to fly!’). But why work with great people and fantastic flying machines if you can't be there with them? I tell clients that I don't charge them for my participation in their victory tour, which is often a lifetime achievement (their aircraft, not my participation).”
After a full day, Farrish’s ideal evening means dinner with the family before they all scatter to baseball, basketball, soccer, dance, choir, etc. “I enjoy coaching my kids' sports teams – it's a great time to unplug temporarily and focus on them.”
Once they are in bed, Farrish works through his remaining emails to get to inbox zero before ending the day. “There are inevitably some last remaining messages from the west coast. Reading and catching up on the news or watching a show with my wife is the best way to round out the day.”
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