2022 DIVERSITY DATABASE UNDERWRITER Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP advises many of the world’s leading corporations, investment funds, and financial institutions on their critical legal needs and business opportunities. With approximately 650 lawyers in North America, the U.K., and Europe, the firm excels in corporate, real estate, and tax work.

An Impressive Crew

Fried Frank traces its history to the turn of the 20th century when a group of German-Jewish lawyers began practicing in New York City in the 1890s, a time when most New York firms did not employ Jewish lawyers. In 1929, Walter J. Fried (pronounced “Freed”) joined the firm as an associate who focused on real estate law. Fried practiced with the firm until his retirement in 1979. In the 1950s, Fried was a pioneer in the movement to convert rental apartment buildings into co-ops owned by the residents. In 1943, Hans J. Frank joined the firm as an expert in international taxation. Frank had left Germany when Hitler’s laws forbidding Jews to practice law had been enacted.

Growing from its roots in New York City’s German-Jewish business community, the firm established itself in the nation’s capital, opening a Washington, DC, office in 1949. By 1971, name partners Walter Fried, Hans J. Frank, Sam Harris, Sargent Shriver, and Leslie Jacobson were all on the masthead. The partners had uniformly impressive resumes—with expertise ranging from tax to real estate to securities—and brought a dedication to civic causes. Sam Harris worked for the SEC in its early days and served as a prosecutor of Nazi war criminals in the Nuremburg trials. Sargent Shriver is known for being the driving force behind the founding of the Peace Corps and serving as its first director.

Keeping It Real

While well respected in both litigation and corporate work, Fried Frank today is widely known for its top-notch Real Estate practice. Since 2011, the firm has been ranked No. 1 in Vault’s Real Estate Practice Area ranking, and Fried Frank’s Real Estate department has also been recognized as “Practice Group of the Year” by Law360 every year since it launched in 2012. Among the areas the firm handles are acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, financing, joint ventures, distressed real estate workouts, development, land use, and environmental issues.

The firm’s Private Equity practice is another notable area. More than 100 of the firm’s attorneys counsel megafund clients and middle-market sponsors on all aspects of private equity transactions, bringing in cross-disciplinary knowledge in antitrust, capital markets, finance, and tax. Fried Frank is also a regular at the M&A table, advising clients across such diverse industries as consumer products, energy, financial services, healthcare, media, pharmaceuticals, real estate, retail, telecommunications, and technology.

Living Well

“Wellness” is a buzzword at many law firms, but it is a priority at Fried Frank. The firm’s program Living Well at Fried Frank offers support in three areas: mental health, fitness and nutrition, and work-life integration. Among the resources offered are around-the-clock access to counseling, discounted gym memberships, and in-house seminars. The firm also hosts a yearly fitness challenge called “Fit Club.”

COVID-19 Update

2021 Summer Associate Program

Fried Frank has always considered its Summer Associate Program a critical part of our recruiting process. This summer is no exception, and it is our goal to have a robust, educational, and interactive 10-week program within a virtual environment. Summer associates will enjoy virtual social events, real work, pro bono opportunities, substantive training, mentoring, and exposure to our attorneys and practice areas during their time with the firm.

Upcoming OCI season

We are committed to participating in OCIs and partnering with law schools in this effort. The firm is prepared to meet students virtually, and we are excited to interview summer associate candidates for our 2022 summer class.

Lateral Attorney Recruitment

Fried Frank has successfully hired and onboarded lateral attorneys virtually since we began working remotely last year. Lateral recruitment has not slowed down, and we continue to hire candidates on a strategic basis.

• Counsel to a joint venture of Vornado Realty Trust and Related Companies in connection with the acquisition, development, and financing of the approximately $2 billion Moynihan Station project, which is part of the broader Penn Station redevelopment.
• Counsel to T-Mobile in multiple matters, including $46 billion of bank and bond financing related to the merger with Sprint and synthetic secondary transactions enabling SoftBank to monetize its $21 billion stockholding in T-Mobile in the largest non-governmental secondary of all time.
• Counsel to Under Armour and its Board of Directors in three federal securities cases, resulting in multiple victories for the client.
• Counsel to Brookfield Asset Management with the formation of Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners III, which is one of the largest opportunistic real estate funds currently in the world and Brookfield's flagship real estate fund.

• Perfect Score of 100% on Corporate Equality Index, 2022—Human Rights Campaign
• Practices and Attorneys Recognized in USA, Global, Europe, and UK Guides,2021−2022—Chambers & Partners
• Three Fried Frank Attorneys Selected as Fellows, 2022—Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)
• Practice Group of the Year (Asset Management Practice), 2021—Law360National
• Four Fried Frank Attorneys Make ABA Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2021 - ABA