Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Fred Friedman has handled a wide range of business and commercial disputes in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels and other tribunals. Fred has defended claims alleging securities fraud and has prosecuted and defended cases involving intellectual property, trademark, and copyright. He has defended claims of legal malpractice and other professional malpractice. Fred also has prosecuted and defended claims involving a wide range of alleged unfair business practices and other business torts, including class actions asserting such claims. Fred has handled the defense of wrongful death, products liability, and mass tort claims and has advised clients on insurance coverage issues relating to such claims. He is currently representing a major paint manufacturer in the California lead paint litigation. Fred was recognized as a Southern California "Super Lawyer" for 2006 and 2007 in the area of business litigation.

Fred's representative civil cases include:

• counsel in a two-month civil jury trial representing Lion Country Safari against The Irvine Company in a suit arising out of Irvine's interference with Lion Country Safari's business plans to develop new attractions on the land it leased after it closed its wild animal park; a jury returned a $43 million verdict for lost profits and punitive damages that ranked among California's "Top 10" verdicts in that year.

• counsel for a well-known national television news anchor in a contractual dispute with NBC; a substantial settlement was reached days prior to trial.

• counsel for the parents and heirs of a singer involved in a dispute with the artist's record label; case settled on favorable terms on the eve of trial.

• counsel for a distributor of dietary supplements sued by customers in a putative class action; trial court's order denying the motion to certify a class of all purchasers of the product upheld on appeal.

Fred also draws on his experience as a former trial attorney in the Department of Justice and as an assistant United States attorney in Los Angeles to handle the defense of cases involving business crimes. In the criminal arena, Fred has handled cases involving environmental violations, illegal arms export, customs violations, trademark crimes, money laundering, campaign finance violations, health care offenses, commercial bribery, political corruption, and the full spectrum of fraud cases, including securities, real estate, federal program fraud, federal procurement fraud, and bank fraud. Fred has developed a particular forte in the defense of criminal tax cases. He also has counseled clients in the area of Internet gaming and has written a survey of the criminal laws applicable to misappropriations of intellectual property. Fred also has broad experience representing witnesses in federal and state grand jury proceedings. His major cases include counsel for:

• a corporate employee of the Teledyne Corporation who was acquitted of charges relating to the export of material that was used in cluster bombs destined for export to Iraq.

• a waste hauler accused of stock manipulation and other offenses; obtained dismissal of all securities charges via motion attacking sufficiency of presentation to the grand jury; remaining criminal charges dismissed and case resolved for civil penalty.

• defendant accused of illegal reclamation of freon in violation of Clean Air Act; won acquittal on all charges but one, with the defendant sentenced to probation and a nominal fine.

• commodities trader accused of complex fraud resulting in loss of more than $70 million; negotiated a disposition resulting in 10 months of detention at a halfway house.

• foreign corporation accused of violating United States tax laws by not withholding income tax and remitting payroll tax on tens of millions of dollars of employee compensation; a small subsidiary pled guilty to a single count not involving fraud, with a promise by the prosecutor not to charge any of the company's executives or employees who pay back taxes.

• defense contractor accused of submitting false certifications to the government; charges dismissed, company placed on probation, and reinstated as government contractor.

Areas of Practice

• Trial Practice
• Commercial Disputes
• Class Action Litigation
• Corporate Criminal Investigations
• Corporate Compliance Programs

Representative Cases

• Bongiorno v. SSB Machinenbaum (W.D. Pa. 2006)
• Fireman's Fund Ins. Co. v. Stites
• Kent v. National Broadcasting Co.
• Lion Country Safari, Inc. - California v. The Irvine Company
• Merton v. Waste Management, Inc.
• S&H Disposal v. City of Gardena
• Federal Criminal Investigation
• Federal Criminal Investigation
• Federal Criminal Prosecution
• Federal Criminal Prosecution
• Federal Criminal Prosecution
• Federal Criminal Prosecution
• Federal Environmental Prosecution
• Grand Jury Investigation (Criminal Dumping)
• State Criminal Prosecution
• State Criminal Prosecution
• Victory for the Pro Bono Unlawful Detainer Project

West Practice Categories

Bankruptcy Litigation, Business & Commercial Law, Class Actions, Collections & Repossessions, Commercial Leasing, Complex Litigation, Consumer Protection, Contracts, Criminal Fraud, Criminal Law, Debtor/Creditor, Federal, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Felonies, Franchising, Grand Jury Proceedings, International Trade Litigation, International Transactions, Joint Ventures, Lemon Law, Litigation & Appeals, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Military & Veterans Appeals, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Secured Transactions, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, Transactions, Uniform Commercial Code, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Victims' Rights, Warranties, White Collar Crimes

Bar Admissions

• California
• New York

Education

• U of California - Berkeley

Published Works

• Intellectual Property Crimes, abtl Report, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, 2007

Address

555 South Flower Street
Fiftieth Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2300

Phones

1.213.243.2922 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.213.243.2539 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com