From our base in New York, we represent a diverse range of clients across the country and around the world.

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Areas of Focus

Darren Fried

Counsel

212 468 4947

Overview

While handling thousands of transactions and music and talent matters over his more than 20-year legal career, Darren Fried has helped agencies and brands understand and execute complex agreements. He also focuses on FDA and related regulatory matters, including the labeling and advertising of cosmetics, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements.

Creative agencies, major fast-food brands and large holding companies value Darren’s counsel when executing global and U.S.-focused media buying, advertising, public relations, talent, music production and celebrity influencer agreements. His efficient and productive solutions balance legal and business needs.

At the earliest stages of a transaction, Darren outlines critical business, commercial and legal issues for master services agreements (MSAs). When problems arise involving celebrity talent, he negotiates with A-list talent representatives to achieve fair and reasonable outcomes.

An accomplished semiprofessional musician and songwriter, Darren’s firsthand understanding of the creative process informs his approach to handling transactions that involve talent, music and film. He puts himself in his clients’ shoes to quickly assess their needs and pinpoint the issues that impact their business.

Before he joined Davis+Gilbert, Darren was a transactional attorney at a large independent media company. He began his legal career as a litigator at a large international firm. Darren enjoys mentoring new associates and facilitating their growth opportunities.

Representative Experience

  • Advised an international prestige brand on rebranding an entire line of cosmetic products, reviewing product packaging, website copy and other marketing materials. Provided guidance regarding testing and survey design, claim substantiation and regulatory compliance.

  • Advised a global sponsor on navigating the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Rule 40 Guidelines governing the sponsorship of Olympic athletes. Rule 40 was substantially rewritten for the Tokyo Olympics, creating unique challenges for both athletes and sponsors in promoting their relationship during an unprecedented Olympic Games.

  • Negotiated a global PR agency’s talent agreement with an A-list celebrity to create and promote a new dance challenge on social media benefitting the philanthropic efforts of the PR agency’s consumer goods client. Helped our client with challenging production issues in the middle of the pandemic and navigated a thicket of intellectual property questions to ensure a successful campaign.

  • Counseling one of the world's largest media agencies on all manner of agreements. Negotiating global MSAs that cover over a billion dollars in media spend and advising the agency on all aspects of operationalizing and managing these and other complex agreements.

  • Provided guidance to a client that specializes in organizing in-person events to help it mitigate its risks based on rapidly changing and hard to predict circumstances. Worked closely and quickly with our client to help it quickly pivot in order to and find a reasonable solution to avoid taking on undue risk when dealing with hundreds of its vendors and clients.

Insights + Events

Credentials

Education

  • Harvard Law School (J.D., 1999)
  • Queens College (CUNY) (B.A., 1995)
Bar Admissions
  • New York