Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

From offices strategically located in the world’s principal financial centers in the US, Europe and Asia, Fried Frank represents many of the markets’ most influential players. Our client base includes multinational Fortune 500 companies, leading financial institutions and investment firms, and entrepreneurial companies across all sectors. We are adept in our deployment of well-configured, cross-border teams that provide the depth of knowledge, breadth of experience and responsive service that clients require to meet their critical business objectives. We offer high-caliber advice across a range of practice areas, combining technical expertise and an unparalleled grasp of the nuanced commercial and regulatory environment in which our clients operate.

Consistently highly ranked by legal directories including Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500 and Benchmark: Litigation, the Firm is well-recognized for providing effective business solutions to sophisticated challenges, frequently creating the precedents that others follow. Fried Frank’s origins date to the turn of the 20th century, with such predecessor firms as Riegelman & Bach, Riegelman Hess & Strasser and Strasser Spiegelberg Fried and Frank. Fried Frank as we know it came into being in 1971, with name partners Walter Fried, Hans Frank, Sam Harris, Sargent Shriver and Leslie Jacobson.

The New York office, the Firm’s oldest and largest, concentrates on antitrust and competition, asset management, bankruptcy and restructuring, capital markets, commercial litigation, executive compensation & employee benefits, finance, intellectual property and technology, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, real estate, securities and shareholder litigation, tax, trusts and estates, and white-collar criminal defense and securities enforcement.

Our Washington, DC office was opened in 1949 as one of the first, and now one of the largest, law firms headquartered elsewhere. It has strong capabilities in antitrust and competition, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, commercial litigation, energy, finance, financial services, government contracts, international trade and investment, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, real estate, securities regulation and enforcement, and tax.

All of our international offices have strong expertise in capital markets and finance, dispute resolution and mergers and acquisitions. Our London office was established in 1970 as one of the first European offices of a US law firm. Our Paris office was founded in 1993, and our Frankfurt office was established in 2004. Our Hong Kong office opened in 2006; Fried Frank remains one of few international law firms in Hong Kong offering US, Hong Kong and English law capabilities. Our Shanghai office opened in 2007.

PRO BONO

What does pro bono mean to us? It’s an opportunity to reach out to the communities in which we live and work. And an opportunity to give back by providing needed services and solutions to those who might otherwise remain unrepresented.

We are proud to work with individuals and groups across a wide spectrum of areas from domestic violence to civil rights, from criminal prosecution and defense appeals to community development, and from tax to political asylum.

At every level, from partner to summer associate, we apply the same exacting standards to pro bono representations as to everything we do.

Mission Statement

Fried Frank’s pro bono program continues the Firm’s long-standing tradition of public service. The Firm’s tradition was apparent as far back as the 1950s, when former partner Colonel George A. Spiegelberg represented an army staff sergeant accused of treason, many believed unfairly, in the landmark case of United States v. Proovoo. It continued into the 1960s when former partner William Josephson was instrumental in founding the Peace Corps, and when retired name partner Sargent Shriver founded the National Center for Poverty Law, which is now recognized as the Shriver Center – Sargent Shriver National Center for Poverty Law.

This commitment is currently reflected in the wide-ranging pro bono work performed over the years by attorneys, summer associates and legal assistants in such areas as representing indigent individuals accused of crime, assisting micro-entrepreneurs with finance and real estate issues, representing non-citizens who seek to enter or remain in this country or are threatened with denial of basic civil liberties, working on behalf of veterans to secure much needed benefits and representing other persons in desperate need of legal assistance.

The Firm’s pro bono program is designed to further several goals. The first, of course, is to provide representation to people of limited means, and to worthy public interest organizations. The program is also there to help each of the Firm’s attorneys to fulfill their ethical obligation to provide representation to those in need. In addition, the program is designed to ensure skill development in all areas of practice and foster relationships between partners and associates.

Finally, through the program, the Firm strengthens its ties to various minority communities, which cultivates overall diversity in the Firm. In addition to the many pro bono opportunities that are available at the Firm’s US offices, lawyers in our London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, and Shanghai offices are also involved with public service and provide pro bono legal services.

We are proud of our pro bono tradition and the lawyers who help to keep it alive, and expect to be leaders in pro bono in the decades to come.

Douglas W. Baruch
Co-Chair, Pro Bono Committee

Janice Mac Avoy
Co-Chair, Pro Bono Committee

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Fried Frank’s energy attorneys have extensive experience in advising clients on transactional, regulatory and compliance, and litigation matters in the physical and financial energy industry. Our multidisciplinary team counsels the full spectrum of players in the conventional and renewable energy sectors and the wholesale and retail energy markets.

Transactional

We advise Fortune 500 corporations, private equity firms and financial institutions in their energy-related M&A activity. Our lawyers have represented numerous parties in the structuring, formation and management of joint ventures.

We represent a broad range of market participants in private and SEC-registered debt and equity securities offerings. In particular, we have been a leader in underwritings for energy companies and other companies facing environmental issues. We regularly advise our clients on current environmental disclosure issues and SEC reporting requirements. Our lawyers also have broad experience in effecting innovative senior, mezzanine, project finance and equity financing transactions for clients in the energy space. We provide advice on all phases of equity and debt financing for renewable energy and cleantech.

Litigation

We represent companies in civil and criminal litigation and enforcement proceedings related to energy-related disputes. Our attorneys represent companies in all forms of litigation, including administrative litigation at the agency and state public utility commission level, complex civil litigation related to contract disputes, and in international trade litigation involving energy matters.