First Foundation Inc.
18101 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 700
Irvine, California 92612
July 16, 2015
SUBMITTED VIA EDGAR
Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention: Era Anagnosti, Legal Branch Chief
| Re: | First Foundation Inc. |
Request for Acceleration of Effective Date of Form 3 Registration Statement (File No. 333-205431)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Pursuant to Rule 461 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), First Foundation Inc., a California corporation (the “Company”), hereby respectfully requests that the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) accelerate the effectiveness of the above-referenced Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “S-3 Registration Statement”) to 4:30 P.M. Eastern Time on July 20, 2015, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, unless you are notified, by telephone or in writing, to the contrary by the undersigned, or by Ben A. Frydman of the law firm of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C., the Company’s outside legal counsel.
The Company hereby acknowledges that:
| • | should the Commission or the staff, acting pursuant to delegated authority, declare the filing effective, it does not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; |
| • | the action of the Commission or the staff, acting pursuant to delegated authority, in declaring the filing effective, does not relieve the Company from its full responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; and |
| • | the Company may not assert staff comments and the declaration of effectiveness as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. |
Should the Commission Staff have any questions regarding this acceleration request, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Frydman at (949) 725-4150 or via email at bfyrdman@sycr.com, or in his absence, please contact me at (949) 202-4160 or via email atjmichel@ff-inc.com.
Securities and Exchange Commission
Attention: Era Anagnosti, Legal Branch Chief
July 16, 2015
Page 2
We respectfully request that you contact Mr. Frydman, via telephone, as soon as the S-3 Registration Statement has been declared effective.
| Sincerely, |
| FIRST FOUNDATION INC. |
/s/ John M. Michel |
| John M. Michel |
| Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer |
| cc: | David Lin, SEC Staff Attorney |
Scott F. Kavanaugh, CEO, First Foundation, Inc.
Ben A. Frydman, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C.
