Mr. Ian Friedman is one of the most sought after criminal defense lawyers in the country. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Friedman has served as chief legal counsel on behalf of individuals and entities from coast to coast and as far as Europe, Asia, and South America.
Very early into his career, Mr. Friedman earned a fierce reputation for his skill in the courtroom, successfully taking on cases that were widely seen as unwinnable. His style is known to be out-of-the-box, aggressive, and comprehensive. Regularly called upon to teach lawyers, young and old alike, Mr. Friedman always emphasizes the need for tireless preparation. That commitment to preparation is afforded every client in every matter.
While no lawyer can promise a result to a potential client in their case, Mr. Friedman does make a number of promises to each person, their colleagues, and families when first meeting with them.
First, every client is assured that Mr. Friedman will do whatever he says he will meaning that they will never hear an empty promise.
Second, the client will always have access to him and his team. Clients are able to reach Mr. Friedman by telephone, computer, or in-person by simply calling the office, his cellular telephone, or by requesting a meeting with his assistant.
Third, Mr. Friedman and his team of exceptionally talented lawyers will always treat the clients’ case as if it were their own or that of a family member. This outlook and commitment fuel the intensity behind the effort in each case, whether it be on behalf of an individual faced with a simple intoxication charge or a Fortune 500 company defending itself from the government in a complex federal investigation.
Mr. Friedman’s practice within the realm of criminal defense is very diverse. His clients are in need of service from the initial investigation through appellate or post-conviction representation. He has tried more than Two-Hundred (200) defense cases to verdict in municipal, state and federal courts although Mr. Friedman would rather see his client’s case successfully resolve prior to ever entering the courtroom and without any notoriety.
There is a great physical and emotional toll taken on a person and their loved ones when a public prosecution is commenced. Even if eventually acquitted, people’s reputation, businesses, finances, and physical well-being are compromised.
Recognizing this, Mr. Friedman and his team of lawyers mount an immediate strategy and attack aimed at preventing a case from even getting off the ground.
Whatever stage of the case, it always goes back to the third promise: Mr. Friedman will handle the case as if it were his own family members.
As his successes grew over the years, so did the requests for his legal representation in other areas. Mr. Friedman has been retained to serve as an expert witness in a number of criminal and ethical disputes. Licensed professionals including lawyers, doctors, brokers, pharmacists, and nurses seek Mr. Friedman’s counsel when facing administrative and disciplinary complaints. Large banks and insurance companies have retained his services for internal investigative matters. In addition to his legal work, Mr. Friedman is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law teaching Cybercrime.
Some of Mr. Friedman's Accolades Include:
After his presidency in 2011, he was honored as the first ever “Lawyer of the Year” by the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Mr. Friedman has been rated by his peers in The Best Lawyers in America as "Lawyer of The Year" for 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio for Criminal Defense: General Practice.
In 2010, he was inducted into the prestigious American Board of Criminal Lawyers (ABCL), which is a Fellowship of the top two-hundred criminal trial lawyers in the United States. In 2018, he was elected to serve as President.
The Best Lawyers in America, which is a strictly peer related survey, has continually recognized Mr. Friedman in the area of Criminal Defense.
Mr. Friedman was the 2019-2020 President of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. The CMBA is comprised of more than 5,300 lawyers across Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.
In 2010, the CMBA honored Mr. Friedman with the William K. Thomas Professionalism Award for his ethical contributions and professional conduct in the legal profession.
He is a former President of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Alumni Association. In 2017, they recognized Mr. Friedman as its "Alumni of the Year".
He has been named in Ohio Super Lawyers since 2009 and is routinely named into the Top 100 lawyers in Ohio and Top 50 lawyers in Cleveland.
He has lectured to lawyers all over the United States of America and in Europe, has been published in countless mediums, and has appeared on several national television programs in his expertise. Additionally, he was invited to Rome, Italy to teach Italian Law Students how to most efficiently present a case in court. Mr. Friedman’s continued contact with his law students after graduation made it abundantly clear that the schools were not equipping the prospective lawyers with the practical skills necessary to most effectively represent clients in today’s legal world.
To help the new lawyers, Mr. Friedman pitched the idea of holding an annual New Lawyer Bootcamp to the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. Working together, the first class of new lawyers graduated from the intensive three-day program in 2013. Mr. Friedman is extremely proud of this annual event in which more than forty judges, top lawyers, and professionals join to help the new lawyers better navigate their way. Mr. Friedman envisions continuing this event for years to come and hopes it will continue long after he has tried his last case.
Due to the vast increase in prosecutions of computer, internet, and technology cases, Mr. Friedman and his team have devoted considerable resources to the defense of such allegations. In this relatively new area of law, case precedent changes almost daily. Mr. Friedman continually researches the latest developments, so that along with thorough case analysis and innovative constitutional interpretation, he and his team can always construct the legal approach best suited to address the case at hand.
Mr. Friedman is regarded as the driving force and chief architect of the greatest change to criminal law in Ohio in over Forty (40) years.
As a former president of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, he worked with his colleagues, including those from the defense bar and representatives of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorney’s Association to draft a new version of Ohio Criminal Rule 16, more commonly known as “Open Discovery.” The new rule was made effective by the Ohio Supreme Court on July 1, 2010. As a result of his effort, accused persons in Ohio must now be provided all evidence intended to be introduced by the government against them at trial.
