Paul Friedman is Morrison & Foerster’s Managing Partner for Europe. He is an antitrust, white collar and securities litigator with a global practice and heads the Firm’s compliance practice. Mr. Friedman has over 34 years of experience with cross-border disputes, investigations and compliance. He specializes in government and internal investigations. Businesses across a wide range of industries also regularly seek his advice for the strategic resolution of their most complex legal challenges and to mitigate business risk, perform transactional due diligence and conduct risk assessments across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Americas and Asia.
Mr. Friedman specializes in disputes and conducting investigations focused on corruption issues, alleged price-fixing by cartels, and other significant compliance issues. He frequently represents clients in government enforcement proceedings and investigations, and has deep expertise in issues involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other international anti-corruption laws. He is a frequent speaker on the FCPA, cross-border litigation, and internal investigations.
Mr. Friedman has conducted cross-border investigations across the globe, including in some of the most challenging markets in EMEA, Asia, and Latin America. His experience spans a broad range of industries, including technology, consumer products, energy, entertainment/media, financial services, and transportation. He has represented a wide range of companies, including many Japanese companies, some of the largest global companies, audit and special committees, individual directors and officers, venture capital firms, investment banks, and law firms.
BTI Consulting Group’s 2006 and 2010 Client Service All-Star Team surveys recognized Mr. Friedman for delivering consistently superior client service. He has also been recommended in the 2007-2017 Best Lawyers in America directories for Commercial Litigation, Securities Litigation and Antitrust Litigation. Mr. Friedman was also recognized by Best Lawyers in America as “Lawyer of the Year” 2017 (London/San Francisco) for Commercial Litigation: Antitrust, Civil Litigation, Class Actions, Commercial Disputes, Complex Litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, SEC Enforcement, Securities, Litigation: Antitrust, and Litigation: Securities.
A partner at Morrison & Foerster since 1986, Mr. Friedman is a past chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department. He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Compensation Committee, and board of directors and former chair of The Morrison & Foerster Foundation from 1997-2014. Mr. Friedman also serves as a board member for Equal Justice Works, the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
In 2014, Mr Friedman was named Morrison & Foerster’s inaugural Managing Partner for Europe, which led him to relocate to London. In this role, he is responsible for developing and implementing a growth strategy for the region and enhancing coordination among the firm’s London, Brussels, and Berlin offices with the firm’s other offices throughout the United States and Asia.
Mr. Friedman is a former chair of the Ninth Circuit Advisory Board, a group of senior lawyers appointed from throughout the Ninth Circuit by the chief judge. He was chair of the 2003 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and also chair of the Lawyer Representatives Coordinating Committee of the 2003 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. He served as program chair of the 2002 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and chair of the lawyer representatives of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference from the Northern District of California for 1998–2000. In 2002, the bench and bar of the Northern District of California honored him with the Public Service Award in recognition of his service to the court. Mr. Friedman is a past recipient of Morrison & Foerster’s Raven Award, an award presented to partners of the Firm who, among other qualities, maintain the highest level of ethics and integrity, exemplify a strong commitment to diversify the legal profession and to pro bono work, and demonstrate leadership and vision within the Firm.
Mr. Friedman was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at the University of California, Berkeley, from which he received his A.B. He was also awarded the University Medal, the highest undergraduate honor at the university, presented to the most distinguished student in the graduating class. Mr. Friedman received his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Cartel/Global Investigations
International Compliance Reviews
Class Actions
Other
Mr. Friedman was recognized in BTI Consulting Group's Client Service All-Star Team 2006 and 2010 surveys for consistently delivering superior client service. Best Lawyers in America has also recommended him in its 2007–2017 directories for Commercial Litigation, Securities Litigation, and Antitrust, and as “Lawyer of the Year” 2017 (London/San Francisco) for Commercial Litigation: Antitrust, Civil Litigation, Class Actions, Commercial Disputes, Complex Litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, SEC Enforcement, Securities, Litigation: Antitrust, and Litigation: Securities. Mr. Friedman is also recommended by The Legal 500 US 2016 in the area of Civil Litigation and Class Actions.
Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Morrison & Foerster will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others pursuant to our Privacy Policy, may not receive a response, and do not create an attorney-client relationship with Morrison & Foerster. If you are not already a client of Morrison & Foerster, do not include any confidential information in this message. Also, please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so.