Michael Fricklas

Chief Legal Officer
Advance

Member
American Bar Association Task Force on Law and AI

Former:
EVP and General Counsel,
Viacom (Paramount)

Michael D. Fricklas became Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Advance in April 2018.  From 1993 to 2017, he was one of the top executives at Viacom, for 19 years as EVP, General Counsel and Secretary, reporting to the CEO.

He 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.  

Mr. Fricklas’s practice started in Silicon Valley, representing technology companies in a variety of financing transactions and in technology licensing.  

Since then, his career has focused on the intersection of copyright and technology, corporate governance,  mergers & acquisitions, and large law department management.  

Mr. Fricklas is currently a member of the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and the Law.   He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Boston University, Secretary and a member of the board of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a board member of Equal Justice Works, and co-chair of the UJA entertainment and media group.  He also serves as a member of New York’s Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, and is active with the group “No Labels”.   He is past president of the Association of General Counsel. 

He is an avid fan of jazz and has co-produced several jazz records, of which one has won two Grammy awards and another was nominated.