When describing his five decades of courtroom advocacy for business clients in more than 100 trials, Harvey R. Friedman underscores the importance of using simple words that tell a compelling story to obtain favorable jury verdicts.  

Named a leading attorney in bet-the-company and commercial litigation by Best Lawyers in America, Harvey is a trial lawyer adroit in the differing approaches that jury and bench trials demand. He serves as lead counsel to both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes, sophisticated litigation involving real estate and business disputes.

Trial Counsel in Commercial Disputes

Harvey has been trial counsel to major real estate developers, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals in federal and state courts and in arbitrations. He has obtained favorable verdicts in nearly every type of complex business dispute including real estate and breach of contract actions.

In one representative trial, he successfully defended a well known Midwest family in a $150 million claim for breach of fiduciary duty and a real estate partnership agreement. After a three-and-a-half month trial, the court found his client not liable and also entitled to recover attorney's fees incurred in the litigation. In another matter, involving a 50-day trial and cross-claims for breach of a contract between health care preferred provider organizations (PPOS), Harvey obtained a $12.2 million judgment for his client. He also obtained a $40 million judgment for the owner of property in a breach of contract suit against a large home builder.

Harvey's experience also includes construction defect litigation, and partnership and shareholder dissolutions, including dissolutions of law firms. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in actions involving fraud, unfair competition, securities fraud, shareholder derivative claims, class actions, legal malpractice, insurance bad faith, defamation, lender liability, and lender and borrower disputes with respect to distressed property.

Since 2008, Mr. Friedman has served as an adjunct professor at USC Law School, where he teaches “Deposition Strategies and Techniques," a practical, hands-on course for third year law students.