Hawaii Litigator Rick Fried Honored with 2026 Alumni of the Year Award
Service to College of Law includes endowment for new scholarship
Litigation and tennis have a lot in common. Both require strategy, endurance, and a bit of a competitive spirit. There’s rigorous preparation and, during the match, plenty of volleys.
For decades, Double Wildcat Rick Fried (’63, ’66) has found success in both.
Fried is now investing in students who need those same qualities to prepare for their own demanding matches. On February 13, 2026, he was named the 2025–26 Alumni of the Year Award in recognition of his legal work and commitment to the James E. Rogers College of Law. Fried also recently donated more than $410,000 to endow the L. Richard Fried, Jr. Future Advocates Scholarship Endowment, which will support law students with a demonstrated interest in trial advocacy.
Persistent, stubborn, hardworking
Fried, who grew up in Scottsdale, played tennis as a University of Arizona undergraduate student before going on to the College of Law. According to Fried, law school taught him to be “persistent, stubborn, hardworking.” “I had to work hard,” he recalls, “and I think that carried over to my practice.”
After law school, Fried flew in Vietnam and later was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. Unsure whether to return to Arizona, he took a position with a Honolulu firm, telling himself he would give it a try for a year. Six years later, he became partner. In 1973, Fried co-founded what is now Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina & Fairbanks, the largest plaintiffs’ litigation firm in Hawaii.
Fried has long been a competitive tennis player at a high level. In 2021, he earned the number one ranking in the men’s 80-year-old division of the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA). He’s been inducted into the USTA Hawaii Pacific Section Tennis Hall of Fame.
“It’s very competitive,” Fried says of the sport he loves. “I get down and I don’t quit. Some people do, and most people in their lives aren’t persistent.”
A record settlement
That tenacity also has paid off in his legal career. For example, in May 2025, after twelve years of litigation, Fried helped secure a $700 million settlement as the state of Hawaii’s lead counsel in litigation against pharmaceutical manufacturers of the blood thinner Plavix. The lawsuit alleged that the companies knowingly marketed Plavix to patients for whom it was ineffective, putting lives at risk and misleading the public. It was the largest monetary settlement in the state’s history and Hawaii Governor Josh Green called it “a landmark result for the people of Hawaiʻi.”
An active alumnus, Fried has previously donated in support of the “A New Day in Court” initiative to remodel moot courtrooms and classrooms. In 2012, he was honored by the Law College Association with the UA Alumni Association’s Professional Achievement Award. Fried delivered the 2015 Peter Chase Neumann Lecture on Civil Justice where he discussed the role of a plaintiff’s lawyer in improving the lives of victims.
New scholarship for future litigators
With the new L. Richard Fried, Jr. Future Advocates Scholarship Endowment, Fried is helping a new generation of aspiring litigators. When asked his advice for current students, he encourages the work ethic that has benefited him.
“You have to be ready, as I did, spend lots of time at night on your couch in your office, and you just have to really want it badly,” Fried advises. “And what I always remember is it’s one of many cases for me, but it’s my client’s only case, and they really count on you.”
“Rick remains a proud graduate and supporter of the University of Arizona and the College of Law,” said Interim Dean Jason Kreag in his nomination letter for the Alumni of the Year Award. “He continues to engage with our alumni community in Hawaiʻi and beyond and serves as a powerful example for our students of where an Arizona Law degree can lead—and what it looks like to use that degree in service of others.”
“It’s, maybe, to me, the singular most impressive award I’ve gotten, and I’ve gotten a fair number of awards,” said Fried of the Alumni of the Year Award.
After decades of hard work, the recognition stands as a testament to the persistence that has defined his journey, in the courtroom, on the tennis court and now in his efforts to support the next generation.