In an increasingly litigious world, you can probably expect to hear about more celebrity Hollywood lawyers like this.
In a lengthy feature piece penned by The Hollywood Reporter’s Gary Baum, Hollywood attorney Bryan Freedman is described in the headline of the piece as: “The Street-Fighting Lawyer Who’s Become Hollywood’s Dark Knight.”
That’s quite the colorful description, but the descriptions proffered by some of his clients echo that bombast.
Sage Steele, a host who infamously left ESPN in a somewhat ugly divorce, told the Reporter that Freedman was a modern-day knight in shining armor when she was first suspended from the sports network.
“He’s the kind of person you need if you’re David fighting Goliath,” Steele said of Freedman.
She added: “Little me versus [ESPN parent company] Disney? He’s the defender of what’s right. He fought for me when I didn’t even think I was worthwhile. He made me feel fearless when I was at my most vulnerable.”
Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host-turned-traveling independent journalist, compared Freedman’s pugnacious demeanor to that of a caged, wild beast.
“Every time I read about Bryan, it’s like, ‘When are they letting him out of the cage?’” Carlson said of Freedman, per the Reporter. “He’s chewing on his own paw.”
Carlson was quick to add, however, that Freedman’s true value wasn’t his aggressive attitude, but his loyalty.
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“If he takes you on, he’s not secretly working with the other side,” said Carlson.
Incredibly, Carlson even credits Freedman for making him reach out to a pair of people — and fellow Freedman clients — that he didn’t even like in former CNN hosts Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon, when they went through similar traumatic departures from former employers.
“It speaks to his decency,” Carlson said.
Cuomo described Freedman as having “a very uncommon sense of honor,” particularly given his line of work.
Megyn Kelly, a fellow independent journalist like Carlson, deployed a young and relatively unknown Freedman when she left NBC News and was as impressed as anyone.
“I was dealing with some dirty dogs,” Kelly said of NBC News. “[A]nd Bryan knew how to handle it. He wasn’t intimidated by their tactics or threats nor their constant leaks in the media.”
“I absolutely adore him and would defend him to the end,” Kelly added. “He’s honest and has integrity and is brilliant and knows how to fight. He’s tireless. Once he’s on board for you, he’ll kill for you.”
The BBC reported last year that Freedman told an audience at a 2021 alumni event that he went into in law to “do something that was powerful” to help clients.
The network referred to him as a “pit bull” who represents top stars including Robert Downey Jr, Vin Diesel and Kate Beckinsale.
Those on the other side of Freedman’s lawfare have equally impressive — if a bit more subdued — things to say about his work.
“Is Bryan Freedman effective? Yes. My life is proof. He’s a shakedown guy,” said former show producer Brian Foster, whose ex-wife was represented by Freedman during divorce proceedings.
“That blitz?” Foster continued. “He’s destroyed my life and my family’s life.”
Other lawyers, however, are not nearly as impressed with the glowing testimonies of Freedman’s most recognizable clients.
“He knows how to create hype, which instills fear [in the other party], but there’s not a lot of substance,” one lawyer told the Hollywood Reporter.
“Bryan Freedman isn’t considered a trial lawyer by my peers,” Foster’s lawyer said, referring to Freedman’s less impressive civil court record.
One thing is clear about Freedman: Whether he is a blustery hype-man or a ruthlessly effective lawyer (or something in between), his name is quickly gaining steam among some very powerful players in the media landscape.
