Fried Frank
Fried Frank is a global law firm headquartered in New York with offices in London, Washington DC, Frankfurt, and Brussels, advising private equity firms, large corporations, financial institutions, and real estate companies on complex cross-border M&A, fund formation, and asset management matters, reporting $1.22 billion in FY2025 revenue.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1970
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Fried Frank does
Fried Frank is a global law firm organized as a Delaware limited liability partnership, headquartered in New York with additional offices in London (regional HQ), Washington DC, Frankfurt, and Brussels. Founded in 1970/1971, the firm is structured as a traditional partner-owned LLP serving institutional clients across private equity M&A, asset management and fund formation, real estate, corporate securities, antitrust, and restructuring. Reported FY2025 revenue reached a record $1.22 billion with 7.2% growth, driven by strength in private equity M&A and an 18% lift in the real estate practice; the firm advised on the $44.8 billion Unilever-McCormick foods business merger and ranked atop consumer M&A value league tables in Q1 2026.
The client base skews heavily toward large enterprises and financial institutions, with disclosed engagements spanning Humana (~$900 million Gentiva divestiture), Goldman Sachs (alternative investment fund counsel), BXP (major Manhattan lease), Conversant Capital ($300 million Bond Street REIT investment), Unilever (consumer M&A), and Moody's (global HQ relocation). Go-to-market is enterprise and partner-led, with client acquisition driven by industry reputation, partner networks, and referrals from investment banks rather than traditional marketing channels; billings follow standard law firm economics — hourly rates and matter-based fees negotiated with corporate clients.
The firm's primary proprietary technology is FundAssist, launched in May 2026 as an AI-powered platform using OpenAI's GPT-5.4 models for document search, client-specific precedent libraries, and agentic drafting of private fund formation documents. The platform is currently restricted to the firm's asset management, regulatory, and tax lawyers with stated plans for direct client access. The firm is also pursuing strategic lateral partner hiring from competitors including Kirkland & Ellis, Morgan Lewis, and Cleary Gottlieb to expand M&A and asset management capabilities, while maintaining top-tier recognition across Chambers USA 2026, The Legal 500 US 2026, and Handelsblatt Best Lawyers.
Fried Frank firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fried Frank
- Legal name
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
- Website
- https://friedfrank.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1970
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Fried Frank is a global law firm headquartered in New York with offices in London, Washington DC, Frankfurt, and Brussels, advising private equity firms, large corporations, financial institutions, and real estate companies on complex cross-border M&A, fund formation, and asset management matters, reporting $1.22 billion in FY2025 revenue.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fried Frank industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Legal Services
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- M&A Advisory (Buy-side/Sell-side) (BPAHADAC)
Keywords
Where Fried Frank is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Fried Frank business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Legal Services: Fried Frank generates revenue through legal advisory services billed to corporate clients. Revenue model is traditional law firm billing - typically hourly rates for attorneys and matter-based fees for transactions. The firm reported record revenue of $1.22 billion with 7.2% growth driven by strength in private equity M&A, asset management, funds, and real estate practices.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Fried Frank product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fried Frank is a global law firm providing legal advisory services to corporations, private equity firms, financial institutions, and investment firms. Core practices include M&A, private equity, asset management, real estate, restructuring, antitrust, capital markets, finance, and litigation. The firm has also developed FundAssist, a proprietary AI-powered platform for document search, agentic drafting, and knowledge management within its asset management practice.
Product overview
Fried Frank operates as a global law firm that has developed FundAssist as its primary proprietary technology product — an AI-powered platform specifically designed for the firm's asset management, regulatory, and tax practices. FundAssist is a single unified platform offering document search, drafting, and knowledge management capabilities built on OpenAI's GPT-5.4 foundation models. The platform was developed internally by the firm over approximately two years and is currently available to the firm's lawyers with future plans for direct client access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Legal Advisory Services Full-service legal counsel to large corporations, private equity firms, financial institutions, and investment firms on M&A, fund formation, asset management, real estate transactions, regulatory matters, and cross-border deals; clients include Unilever, Goldman Sachs, Humana, BXP, Moody's, and Conversant Capital.
- FundAssist AI Platform Proprietary AI platform built on OpenAI's GPT-5.4 with client-specific precedent libraries, document search capabilities, and an agentic drafting tool that generates first drafts of private fund formation documents and automates responses to side-letter requests from investors.
Quantifiable outcome
- Record revenue of $1.22 billion with 7.2% growth
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Fried Frank
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Fried Frank technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature1 record
Fried Frank partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Cushman & WakefieldminorCushman & Wakefield and Fried Frank both represented Moody Corporation in the transaction involving Moody's relocation of global headquarters to 200 Liberty Street at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Fried Frank competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kirkland & Ellis: The largest law firm in the world by revenue and the dominant advisor to private equity firms on M&A. Fried Frank competes with Kirkland directly for sponsor-side M&A and fund formation mandates, and has even hired laterally from Kirkland.
- Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom: Premier M&A and corporate law firm with strong PE and asset management practices. Skadden competes with Fried Frank for large-cap M&A, fund formation, and corporate finance mandates across the New York market.
- Latham & Watkins: Global law firm with leading M&A, private equity, and capital markets practices. Latham's broader geographic reach and dominant PE practice make it a head-to-head competitor for cross-border transactional mandates Fried Frank pursues.
- Sullivan & Cromwell: Elite M&A, securities, and corporate finance advisor with a strong asset management practice. Sullivan & Cromwell competes with Fried Frank for high-end M&A, fund formation, and capital markets engagements from large financial institutions and corporates.
- Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz: The premier M&A advisory firm in the US, particularly for large public-company transactions. Wachtell is the natural competitor for the mega-deal mandates that Fried Frank is increasingly winning, including consumer-sector M&A.
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton: Elite cross-border M&A, capital markets, and antitrust firm. Fried Frank has hired laterally from Cleary, and the two compete directly for international M&A, EU regulatory, and asset management mandates.
- Davis Polk & Wardwell: Top-tier M&A, securities, and corporate finance firm serving large corporates and financial institutions. Davis Polk is a direct competitor for high-value M&A and capital markets engagements with Wall Street clients like Goldman Sachs.
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett: Leading M&A and private equity law firm with a deep sponsor client base. Simpson Thacher is a primary competitor for PE M&A and fund formation mandates, especially in large-cap sponsor-led transactions.
- Debevoise & Plimpton: Top-tier M&A and asset management law firm with a strong private funds practice. Debevoise's overlapping focus on PE M&A, fund formation, and asset management makes it a direct comparable for Fried Frank's core practice areas.
- Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison: Elite corporate, M&A, and private equity firm with a top-tier litigation practice. Paul Weiss competes with Fried Frank for high-end M&A and asset management engagements, particularly for corporate and sponsor clients.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Fried Frank social profiles
Digital presenceFried Frank financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fried Frank leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Fried Frank funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fried Frank M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fried Frank
What does Fried Frank do?
Fried Frank is a global law firm providing legal advisory services to corporations, private equity firms, financial institutions, and investment firms. Core practices include M&A, private equity, asset management, real estate, restructuring, antitrust, capital markets, finance, and litigation. The firm has also developed FundAssist, a proprietary AI-powered platform for document search, agentic drafting, and knowledge management within its asset management practice.
Is Fried Frank a public or private company?
Fried Frank is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Fried Frank founded?
Fried Frank was founded in 1970. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Fried Frank based?
Fried Frank is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fried Frank make money?
One revenue line is on record: legal Services.
Who are Fried Frank's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Latham & Watkins, Sullivan & Cromwell, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Debevoise & Plimpton and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison.
Does Fried Frank have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fried Frank.
What industry is Fried Frank in?
Fried Frank's product category is Legal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHADAC, M&A Advisory (Buy-side/Sell-side). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.