Karl Cole-Frieman is Managing Partner of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP and serves as counsel to many of the most prominent hedge fund managers in the United States. Karl is well known in the industry for the range of his expertise regarding this client demographic and his innovative work with managers who invest in non-traditional asset classes. Karl is highly sought after for business-oriented and practical advice stemming from his long career working as both an in-house and external adviser. He has guided hundreds of start-up managers by launching their first fund and has the breadth of experience to advise very large managers.
Karl is a trusted adviser and is nationally recognized as a leading cryptocurrency lawyer, with Chambers USA noting, “Karl is one of the leaders in the digital asset space.” He represents many of the largest cryptocurrency fund managers in the country. Karl previously served on the Board of Directors of OKCoin, a globally licensed cryptocurrency exchange.
Ranked by Chambers Global for his Hedge Funds expertise, Karl is known for combining sophisticated legal analysis with sound business judgment. As noted by a client interviewed by Chambers, “He is practical and is really good at drilling down to the core of the issue and being solution-oriented,” and that, “[h]is in-house experience is incredibly valuable. He has a great perspective and empathy for clients.”
Prior to co-founding Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP, Karl was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Standard Pacific Capital, LLC (“Standard Pacific”), an SEC-registered hedge fund manager in San Francisco with offices in New York, Hong Kong, and a sub-adviser in Tokyo. In addition to managing the Legal and Compliance Departments at Standard Pacific, Karl was also responsible for Human Resources, IT, General Administration, and particular operations and strategic matters for Standard Pacific’s credit strategy.
Before joining Standard Pacific, Karl was Associate General Counsel of Sagamore Hill Capital Management, L.P., a multi-strategy hedge fund in Greenwich, Connecticut, with an office in London.
Prior to that, he was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“JP Morgan”). He was lead counsel for Loan Trading and Distressed Debt and actively involved in the Loan Syndications and Trading Association. During his tenure at JPMorgan and predecessor firm, Hambrecht & Quist, Karl also supported the M&A, Corporate Finance, and Private Equity Groups. He began his career in 1997 as an Associate in the Litigation Department of Shearman & Sterling.
Karl lives with his wife, Wanda, and twins, Isaac and Taylor, in Oakland, CA, where he enjoys running and biking and is a Crossfit Level 1 Trainer.
