8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549



                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED):  MARCH 18, 1998

                    THE FIRST AMERICAN FINANCIAL CORPORATION
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

CALIFORNIA                               0-3658                   95-1068610
(State or Other Jurisdiction           (Commission              (IRS Employer
of Incorporation)                      File Number)          Identification No.)

        114 EAST FIFTH STREET, SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA         92701-4642
        (Address of Principal Executive Offices)             (Zip Code)

                                 (714) 558-3211
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

                                 NOT APPLICABLE
         (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)








ITEM 5.   OTHER EVENTS.

          See  the attached Exhibit.


ITEM 7.   EXHIBITS.

     99   Press Release of The First American Financial  Corporation dated March
          18, 1998.






                                    SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.


                                THE FIRST AMERICAN FINANCIAL CORPORATION
                                (Registrant)


Date: March 18, 1998            By:    /S/ THOMAS A. KLEMENS
                                       ---------------------
                                Name:  Thomas A. Klemens
                                Title: Executive Vice President 
                                       and Chief Financial Officer

EX-99

                                   EXHIBIT 99


                                                   Contact:  Thomas A. Klemens
                                                      Executive Vice President
                                                       800-854-3643, ext. 7442


              FIRST AMERICAN FINANCIAL TO ACQUIRE CONTOUR SOFTWARE,
              THE LARGEST MORTGAGE LOAN INDUSTRY SOFTWARE SUPPLIER

SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 18, 1998 - The First American Financial Corporation
(NYSE:FAF)  announced today a definitive  agreement to acquire  California-based
Contour  Software,  the largest  supplier of mortgage  origination  software and
services to the mortgage loan industry.

Contour Software provides leading edge,  technological solutions to the mortgage
lending  industry.   Contour's   practical  and  efficient  software  makes  the
origination  process easier and faster for customers  such as mortgage  brokers,
mortgage  lenders,  credit unions,  commercial  banks and savings  institutions.
Contour  will become a wholly owned  subsidiary  of First  American  Real Estate
Information Services, Inc. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"The acquisition of Contour will significantly benefit our customers and enhance
the electronic  delivery of our products and services," said President Parker S.
Kennedy.  "Mortgage  brokers  generate  over 50 percent of first  mortgages  and
Contour provides products and services to over 30 percent of the broker market."

"We sought a platform for delivering our  origination-related  products, such as
appraisal,  mortgage credit,  flood  certification  and title insurance,  to the
mortgage broker community," Kennedy continued. "Contour represents the very best
platform  available.  This  acquisition  is yet another  step toward our goal of
becoming the only fully integrated, and the most efficient and innovative,  real
estate information services provider."

First  American  Real Estate  Information  Services'  President  John Long said,
"Contour  Software  is the  premier  provider  of  Windows-based  mortgage  loan
origination technology. Contour will provide us with tremendous opportunities to
expand our  services to the  mortgage  broker  industry  and to  strengthen  our
customer base while providing increased efficiency and a streamlined origination
process."

"With the backing of the mortgage  industry's  leading  provider of  information
services,  Contour's customers will benefit from the integration and enhancement
of mortgage specific software and services," said Scott Cooley, Contour Software
president  and CEO. "Our clients will now have direct  access,  right from their
lap or desk tops, to First  American's  complete array of products and services.
Lenders using Contour Software are the big winners."

Founded in 1982,  Contour  Software  offers  software  products for the mortgage
lending industry.  The company's flagship product,  The Mortgage Banking Series,
is a complete  line of software  products  for every facet of mortgage  lending,
from qualification to servicing. With approximately 7,000 customers,  Contour is
a technology  leader with the most  complete  line of software  products and the
most  electronic  commerce  connections  in the  industry.  Based  in  Campbell,
California,  Contour is a privately held  corporation  with 100 employees and 25
sales representatives across the nation.

The First American Financial Corporation, based in Santa Ana, California, is the
nation's  leading  provider of real  estate-related  financial  and  information
services. The corporation's  subsidiaries include First American Title Insurance
Company, a national and international title insurer;  First American Real Estate
Information  Services,  Inc.,  which offers tax  monitoring,  credit  reporting,
property  data  services,   flood  certification,   field  inspection  services,
appraisal  services,  mortgage  loan  servicing  systems and  mortgage  document
preparation;  First American Home Buyers Protection Corporation, a home warranty
company; and First American Capital Management, an investment advisory firm. The
Corporation also operates First American Trust Company and First Security Thrift
Company in Southern  California.  First American  Financial has more than 13,000
employees  in  over  400  branch  offices  in  the  United  States  and  abroad.
Information  about the company's  subsidiaries  and a press release  archive are
available at http://www.firstam.com.

                                      # # #