Sofie Syed

Sofie Syed represents clients across a broad array of industries in complex commercial and corporate governance disputes, from pre-litigation advising through trial, as well as in internal investigations.  

Sofie joined Friedman Kaplan from Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP in 2022. Her prior experience includes defending board members and senior management in shareholder derivative litigation, representing the plaintiff in a multibillion-dollar RMBS litigation, conducting internal investigations for organizations facing allegations of misconduct by public figures, and representing technology and energy companies in complex disputes.

Sofie has worked on significant public interest matters, including representing plaintiffs in federal class action litigation and civil rights advocates as amici curiae in a variety of federal and state cases. Prior to joining Friedman Kaplan, Sofie provided emergency legal assistance at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport following the 2017 “travel ban” executive order and represented civil rights advocates, including the Korematsu Center and Karen Korematsu, as amici curiae in challenges to the ban across the country. The Korematsu brief was ultimately cited by Justice Sotomayor in her dissent in Trump v. Hawaii. Sofie also represented a coalition of civil rights organizations as amici curiae in a challenge to discriminatory peremptory strikes of potential jurors based on skin color, resulting in the recognition of color as a category distinct from race.

Representative Matters

• Representation of over three dozen plaintiff equityholders of a multi-state cannabis operator in a Delaware Chancery Court action alleging claims of breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy, and aiding and abetting arising over a multi-year period against, among other defendants, the former Chairman and CEO and other former and current directors and officers.
• Representation of a prominent media company in a series of matters defending against allegations of Video Privacy Protection Act violations.
• Representation of a global electronics company in an expedited director reinstatement action and trial in Delaware Chancery Court.
• Representation of legal scholars and law professors as amici curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court to advance an interpretation of federal law that preserves the authority of states and other governmental entities to enact and enforce laws that impose liability on gun industry participants whose unlawful conduct is a proximate cause of harm related to firearms violence.

Outside the Office

Sofie is a member of the South Asian Bar Association of New York and has participated in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s Fellows and Pathfinder programs.