Jack Friery was born and raised in New York City, where he graduated from Fordham College and Fordham Law School. He went on to be commissioned as an Army 2LT out of a college ROTC program. He later was one of the winners of the first US Army ROTC Scholarships in the USA. After attending law school and passing the New York bar, he went on active duty as an Army captain. He spent four years as a military lawyer.
After military service, Friery went to work with the Defense department as a civilian lawyer specializing in government contract law. He became chief counsel of an Army research laboratory. After about ten years, he left the government to join a law firm in Washington, DC, where he conducted litigation involving government contracts. After three years, Friery joined the legal staff of Hughes Aircraft Company in Los Angeles, a major defense contractor. He became chief lawyer for a major operating group of the company. He later joined the legal staff of SAIC, which is another major government contractor located in San Diego. For about the last ten years, he’s had his own law practice representing technology companies that sell to the U.S. government.
While at SDSU, Friery has taught numerous contract management courses – Legal Aspects of Contracts, International Contracts, and Commercial and International Contracts. Last year, he created and taught an online course entitled Fundamentals of the FAR. He is presently creating, and will teach this summer, a course on International Contracting. When asked about last year’s FAR course Friery says, “This is a seven-week, run-through of the federal acquisition system. Each week, the students review a PowerPoint presentation – with my narration. They scan a specific section of the FAR. Then, they prepare a practical exercise. For example, I gave them a scenario that their company had bid and lost a federal contract. The boss asks them to put together a PowerPoint presentation for the members of their work group explaining how a losing bidder can protest the government’s award decision.”
In regard to his students, Friery adds that the individuals in his class tend to be those who have had some experience in public contacting, but are looking for a more in-depth knowledge of the system. He went on to say, “Individuals who expect to be promoted into jobs that require decision-making regarding public contracts – whether as government or industry employees – would benefit from the class.”
