Ownership Submission
FORM 3
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Leavell Christopher Michael
2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
12/02/2011
3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
First American Financial Corp [FAF]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
1 FIRST AMERICAN WAY
4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
COO of Subsidiary
5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

SANTA ANA, CA 92707
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)
3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 137,825
D (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
 
Common Stock 1,045.002
I
by 401(k) Plan Trust (8)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)
4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)
6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) (7) 03/12/2004 03/12/2013(9) Common Stock 13,974 $ 11.32 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) (7) 04/01/2004 04/01/2013(10) Common Stock 13,974 $ 11.32 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) (7) 10/21/2005 10/21/2014(11) Common Stock 20,209 $ 15.09 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) (7) 10/21/2005 10/21/2014(11) Common Stock 14,726 $ 15.09 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) (7) 01/13/2007 01/13/2016(12) Common Stock 13,448 $ 19.96 D  
Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) (7) 01/13/2007 01/13/2016(12) Common Stock 9,842 $ 19.96 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Leavell Christopher Michael
1 FIRST AMERICAN WAY
SANTA ANA, CA 92707
      COO of Subsidiary  

Signatures

/s/ Greg L. Smith, Attorney-in-Fact for Christopher M. Leavell 12/12/2011
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Includes 342 unvested restricted stock units ("RSUs") acquired in a pro rata distribution by The First American Corporation ("FAC") on account of an original grant of 1,242 FAC RSUs, of which 550 were unvested at the time of the distribution and shares acquired through automatic dividend reinvestment. The current number of unvested RSUs excludes RSUs associated with this grant that are required to be transferred to the reporting person's ex-wife upon vesting pursuant to a domestic relations order. The vesting schedule of the FAC RSUs, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 3/20/08, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer RSUs.
(2) Includes 7,015 unvested RSUs acquired in a pro rata distribution by FAC on account of an original grant of 13,636 FAC RSUs, of which 8,793 were unvested at the time of the distribution and shares acquired through automatic dividend reinvestment. The current number of unvested RSUs excludes RSUs associated with this grant that are required to be transferred to the reporting person's ex-wife upon vesting pursuant to a domestic relations order. The vesting schedule of the FAC RSUs, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 3/4/09, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer RSUs.
(3) Includes 9,081 unvested RSUs acquired in a pro rata distribution by FAC on account of an original grant of 12,209 FAC RSUs, of which 10,133 were unvested at the time of the distribution and shares acquired through automatic dividend reinvestment. The current number of unvested RSUs excludes RSUs associated with this grant that are required to be transferred to the reporting person's ex-wife upon vesting pursuant to a domestic relations order. The vesting schedule of the FAC RSUs, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 3/20/10, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer RSUs.
(4) Includes 20,113 unvested RSUs acquired in a pro rata distribution by FAC on account of an original grant of 10,464 FAC RSUs, of which 10,527 were unvested at the time of the distribution and shares acquired through automatic dividend reinvestment. The vesting schedule of the FAC RSUs, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 3/22/11, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer RSUs.
(5) Includes 72,713 shares acquired pursuant to a grant of performance based RSUs on account of an original grant of 70,921 RSUs and shares acquired through automatic dividend reinvestment, which vest (if the performance criteria have been met) in three equal annual increments commencing on 6/1/13, the third anniversary of the grant, pursuant to the Form of RSU Award Agreement filed as Exhibit 10(i) to the issuer's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2010.
(6) Includes 22,552 unvested RSUs acquired pursuant to an original grant of 22,274 RSUs and shares acquired through automatic dividend reinvestment, vesting in four equal annual increments commencing 3/21/12, the first anniversary of the grant.
(7) Pursuant to a domestic relations order, a portion of the reporting person's shares, options and certain RSUs are held by the reporting person for the benefit of his ex-wife, who will receive the cash proceeds generated from the sale of applicable shares, after any applicable vesting and/or exercise.
(8) Amount shown consists of shares contributed by issuer as company match, shares purchased for the reporting person's account and shares acquired through automatic reinvestment of dividends paid as reported in most recent account statement in transactions exempt under rules 16a-3(f)(1)(i)(B) and 16b-3(c).
(9) The vesting schedule of the original FAC option, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 3/12/04, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer options.
(10) The vesting schedule of the original FAC option, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 4/1/04, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer options.
(11) The vesting schedule of the original FAC option, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 10/21/05, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer options.
(12) The vesting schedule of the original FAC option, vesting in five equal annual increments commencing 1/13/07, the first anniversary of the grant, has been carried over to the issuer options.
 
Remarks:
Exhibit List: Exhibit 24 - Power of Attorney

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