Professional Experience

Clay Friedman is a  partner in the firm's Orange County office, licensed in California, Illinois and Missouri. Mr. Friedman, whose practice focuses on multistate regulatory work, e-commerce, consumer protection and antitrust matters, is a member of the Advertising, Marketing & Media and the Government and Regulatory Practice Groups. He also has developed an extensive e-commerce practice with regard to advertising, marketing, privacy and regulatory issues affecting Internet marketing and sales.

Mr. Friedman represents clients before various federal agencies and departments, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. He also represents clients’ interests in single or multistate enforcement activities by state attorneys general. Drawing on his experience in trade regulation, Mr. Friedman advises clients on compliances with state and federal regulatory schemes by, among other things, performing legal audits of their business and marketing plans in areas such as advertising, sales practices, prize promotion marketing, and customer/consumer relations.

From 1984 to 1992, Mr. Friedman held various positions in the Office of the Attorney General, State of Missouri, including assistant deputy attorney general and Kansas City Regional Office manager. He acted as lead counsel for numerous states in multistate enforcement actions, including nationwide settlements with major automotive repair and manufacturing corporations, credit reporting agencies and national retailers. He served as Missouri's representative on multiple National Association of Attorneys General task forces, including those which formulated advertising guidelines for the airlines and rental car industries. As an assistant attorney general, Mr. Friedman was a recipient of the Association’s Marvin Award, presented each year to the individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, expertise and achievement in advancing the goals of the association.

Mr. Friedman also previously served as Chief Counsel and Director of the Business Regulation Project for the National Association of Attorneys General in Washington, D.C., a project encompassing antitrust, consumer protection, insurance, and charitable trust issues. He concentrated on federal/state relations, issues involving healthcare and automobile repair fraud, and the coordination of the association's Antitrust Multistate Task Force.

Education

Saint Louis University School of Law, cum laude, J.D., 1984.

State University of New York at Buffalo, B.A., cum laude, 1981.

Memberships & Activities

Admitted to practice in the states of California, Illinois and Missouri.

Member, American Bar Association.

Former Vice-Chairman, American Bar Association’s Consumer Protection Committee, 1991-1993.

Honors & Awards

National Association of Attorneys General Marvin Award.