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Michael D. Fricklas

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American lawyer

Michael D. Fricklas is an American lawyer and an executive in the entertainment industry. He is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Advance Publications. Previously, he was executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Viacom Inc. (and preceding companies) from 1993 to 2017, and general counsel from 1998 to 2017. Viacom is now known as Paramount Global.

Fricklas is also a past president of the Association of General Counsel and a recipient of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s "Excellence in Corporate Practice" Award for "achievement in service to the legal profession and improvement of the legal system," the association said.

Prior to his departure from Viacom in April 2017, Fricklas ranked among the highest-paid chief legal officers in America, with a total compensation of over 6 million dollars.

Fricklas is responsible for all legal and governmental affairs for Advance. 

Viacom

While at Viacom, Fricklas was responsible for the company's legal and business affairs, including television, motion pictures, online and on mobile platforms for the company's brands which included MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, Spike, TV Land, CMT, Paramount Pictures, among others. During his tenure, such brands also included CBS Simon & Schuster, Showtime, Blockbuster, Paramount Parks, CBS Television and many others.

Key responsibilities

While at Viacom, Fricklas' portfolio included large transactions and financings, capital raising transactions, management of technology, real estate, risk management and compliance matters and government affairs. He also created Viacom's cybersecurity governance program; he initiated and managed privacy and anti-piracy operations. Fricklas' responsibilities for content protection and IP put him out front on Viacom's decision to sue Google for copyright infringement at YouTube.

Highly reported matters

YouTube Litigation: Fricklas was the architect of Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube. Viacom initially lost the case, but the company successfully appealed and ultimately settled the litigation.

The New York Times "Deal Book" writer, Steven Davidoff Solomon, among critics of the litigation, chided Fricklas for creating "a case that just served to make a crazy situation crazier while wasting millions of dollars." Ultimately, Fricklas was credited for "helping to shape the rules of the road in posting online content," and The New York Times noted that Viacom saw, in the settlement with the book publishers, an acknowledgement that Google needed to pay creators.

Redstone Corporate Control Litigation: Fricklas was substantively involved in the legal issues surrounding the Redstone family war for corporate control and operating responsibility.

CBS: Fricklas worked on deals to tie and untie Viacom with CBS, including Viacom's merger with CBS (2000), split-off with CBS Corp. (2005), and the Blockbuster split-off (2004). In 2016, Fricklas was at the head of the impending transaction that broke-off negotiations for a merger between the companies.

Viacom Headquarters Lease: Fricklas did the deal that built out the company's space to 1.6 million square feet for its Times Square headquarters office, a big economic win for New York City, according to Real Estate Weekly.

Viacom Legal Department notable initiatives

Cited as one of the "four best legal departments in the country" in 2016, Corporate Counsel recognized the Viacom in-house legal team under Fricklas for its protection of the company's intellectual property, and as a leader in legal automation, including leading edge e-discovery and document management.

Early career

Prior to his 25-year career at Viacom, Fricklas was vice president, general counsel & secretary of Minorco, (U.S.A.) Inc. (now part of Anglo American PLC) and served on the board of its subsidiary, Hudson Bay Mining, and before that a corporate lawyer with Shearman & Sterling and a predecessor of DLA Piper where he first worked on technology licensing for Silicon Valley–based technology companies.

Directorships and other leadership (volunteer organizations)

Fricklas participates in a variety of volunteer activities:

  • Boston University, Board of Trustees.
  • Boston University School of Law Dean's advisory board.
  • Member of the planning committee for the Tulane Corporate Law Institute.
  • New York's Permanent Commission on Access to justice, member (current).
  • Advisory board of the Legal Aid Society.

He is also secretary and a member of the board of directors of Jazz at Lincoln Center and co-chair of the UJA Entertainment Media and Communications Division (current).

Publications, lectures, and videos

Fricklas has served as a panelist at conferences, bar associations and university classes on varied topics such as communications law, cybersecurity, copyright, corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, litigation and law department management. He has been a speaker at Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Yale, Boston University, University of Colorado, the Legal Talk Network and the Lattice Society among others.

  • Law School of NYU International Legal Roundtable on Cross Border Investment and M&A Rebalancing the World Order in Global M&A and Strategic Cross-Border Transactions 2013.
  • Digital rights management (DRM) lecture to a Yale Law class.
  • Speaker at University of Colorado: Accelerate Your In-House Career January 4–8, 2016 University of Colorado Law School Corporate Counsel Intensive Institute.
  • Viacom's top lawyer tells Beet TV: Mash Ups are fine, but Copying is not Fair Use.
  • Our Case Against YouTube.
  • Panelist on “The future of the Internet” at Berkman Center for Internet and Society, May 16, 2008.

Honors and awards

Fricklas has been recognized as a legal expert and contributor in the entertainment industry and is the recipient of various awards noted in speaker biographies, such as Silicon Flatirons, which are provided for his classes, keynotes, and panelist engagements.

  • America's 50 Outstanding General Counsels, National Law Journal (April 11, 2016).
  • Counsel of the Year Award from the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel.
  • The Legal 500 2014 Entertainment Individual of the Year.
  • Economic Justice award from the National Center for Law and Economic Justice.
  • Boston University School of Law's "Silver Shingle" for distinguished service to the school of law.
  • New York County Lawyers Association’s “William Nelson Cromwell Award.”

Academic background

Bar Admissions: California: 1984; Colorado: 1990; New York: 1993

Fricklas received a B.S.E.E. from the University of Colorado's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences in 1981 and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston University School of Law in 1984.

References

  1. "Former Viacom GC Mike Fricklas Heads to Advance Publications". Corporate Counsel. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  2. ^ "Michael D. Fricklas" (PDF). Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  3. "ViacomCBS is renamed Paramount in a nod to its past and streaming future". Los Angeles Times. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  4. "Viacom General Counsel Michael Fricklas Receives "Excellence in Corporate Practice" Award". Business Wire. November 7, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  5. Forshee, Stephanie (February 13, 2017). "Viacom GC: 'After 24 Years and Seven CEOs, It's Time for Me to Move On'". Law.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Casey (February 13, 2017). "Viacom GC Leaving Company 'With Very Mixed Emotions'". Big Law Business. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  7. "Michael Fricklas". Legal Talk Network. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  8. Davidoff Solomon, Steven (August 22, 2016). "Lessons From the Viacom Dispute". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  9. Gardner, Eriq (July 19, 2012). "Viacom Top Lawyer Michael Fricklas on Piracy, YouTube and His Toughest Decisions". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  10. Helft, Miguel (October 29, 2008). "Viacom Sees a Concession in Google Settlement". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  11. Davidoff Solomon, Steven (June 24, 2016). "Hearing Shows Little Is Known on Who Controls Viacom". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  12. "Viacom's Top Lawyer Michael Fricklas to Depart Company". LinkwayLive.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  13. "Viacom inks city's biggest ever lease with SL Green". Real Estate Weekly. April 26, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  14. Bagli, Charles V. (April 25, 2012). "Viacom Signs a New Lease to Expand in Times Sq". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  15. Winchester, Stuart (May 24, 2016). "Viacom Legal Lands on Corporate Counsel's Best Legal Departments List". Viacom Blog. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  16. "Law School Dean's Advisory Board". Boston University. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  17. "Board of Advisors". The Legal Aid Society. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  18. "Members of the Board of Trustees » Trustees | Boston University". www.bu.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  19. "Jazz at Lincoln Center Announces New Members to Board of Directors". Jazz at Lincoln Center. October 23, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  20. "Entertainment, Media & Communications Division Executive Committee". UJA Federation. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  21. "Copyright Issues, Intellectual Property, and Data Security in the Digital Age". Legal Talk Network. July 2, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  22. "General Counsel Roundtable CLE at the New York State Bar Association". Lattice Society. January 3, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  23. "Rebalancing the World Order in Global M&A and Strategic Cross-Border Transactions" (PDF). XBMA.org. May 7, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  24. "Viacom's top lawyer: suing P2P users "felt like terrorism"". Ars Technica. November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  25. "Accelerate Your In-House Career" (PDF). University of Colorado. January 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  26. "Michael Fricklas". YouTube.com. September 14, 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  27. Fricklas, Michael (March 24, 2007). "Our Case Against YouTube". Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  28. Staff, HLS News. "Berkman Center celebrates 10th anniversary with major conference exploring the future of the Internet". Harvard Law School. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  29. "Michael D. Fricklas" (PDF). Silicon Flatirons. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  30. "NYCLA Annual Dinner Award Recipients". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  31. "Attorney Search - Michael D Fricklas". The State Bar of California. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  32. "Michael Fricklas". JUSTIA. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  33. "Speaker Biographies" (PDF). Lawyers for Civil Justice. December 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
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