Fried Frank

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.

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

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

• Corporate legal services
• Private equity M&A
• Asset management law
• Cross-border transactions
• Real estate legal counsel

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cushman & WakefieldminorOthers · 22 December 2025Cushman & 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

Direct 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fried-frank
• Instagraminstagram.com/friedfrank
• Xx.com/friedfrank

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fried Frank