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 31, 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 31, 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 31, 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

SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 31, 1998 - The First American Financial Corporation
(NYSE:  FAF) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire by
merger Data Tree Corporation,  a California company in the business of providing
database   management  and  document   imaging  systems  to  county   recorders,
governmental agencies and the title industry. Each share of Data Tree stock will
be converted into the right to receive First American stock.  The merger must be
approved by the  shareholders  of Data Tree and is subject to customary  closing
conditions,  including governmental  approvals.  This transaction is expected to
close in the next two months,  and the company  believes it will be accretive to
the earnings of First American Financial.  Data Tree will become a part of First
American  Real Estate  Solutions,  LLC, the recently  formed  venture,  owned 80
percent by First American and 20 percent by Experian.

     Data Tree has two primary  products.  Titlescape  is a  subscription-based,
Windows-compliant  software  package that combines access to on-line  historical
databases of imaged  recorded  title  documents with  integration  software that
enables customers to combine their processing applications into one system. IDEA
(Indexing  Document  Extraction  Application)  is a turnkey imaging and document
management  system designed for county recorders and other government  agencies.
The system simplifies and expedites the maintenance of documents by allowing the
user to convert paper documents and other input media into electronic images and
then manage the storage, retrieval and routing of these images.

     According to President  Parker S. Kennedy,  This  acquisition  provides the
assurance that electronic  document imaging and retrieval  capabilities  will be
expanded  geographically to meet the needs of our title operations and the title
industry at large.

     Through  processes  that Data Tree has developed we will be able to greatly
accelerate  the  ability  to  search  title  and  retrieve  recorded   documents
electronically  from central  locations,  Kennedy  continued.  Efficiency  gains
resulting from these procedures will work in the long term to assure the ability
of the title industry to keep pace with a rapidly changing  marketplace.  Harish
Chopra, president of Data Tree, stated: We are pleased to join forces with First
American.  Titlescape's  land record  imaged  database  will create an important
fully integrated platform to benefit the title industry. This alliance will help
us expand at an  accelerated  pace to other key  population  centers  around the
country.

     Data  Tree  was  founded  in  1988  and  is  headquartered  in  San  Diego,
California, with offices in Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Florida.

     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   nationally;   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 an
archive  of its press  releases  can be found at  http://www.firstam.com  on the
Internet.