Steven Zalesin is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and a member of the Management Committee of the firm. He has extensive experience in intellectual property and complex commercial matters, and has successfully tried numerous false advertising and other cases in courts throughout the United States.
For the past 25 years, Mr. Zalesin has represented the nation's leading manufacturers and service providers in a series of landmark cases that have shaped the law of false advertising, while helping to preserve and grow the markets for our clients’ products. In one such case last year, Mr. Zalesin obtained summary judgment in favor of the world’s largest beverage manufacturer, defeating a claim that the company’s FDA-authorized label could nonetheless violate federal and state false advertising statutes. In another recent matter for the same client, he successfully defended the launch advertising for the company’s reformulated sports drink against a federal court challenge by its chief competitor.
Mr. Zalesin has successfully represented the manufacturer of the leading no-calorie sweetener in a succession of false advertising and trade dress disputes. In 2004 and again in 2008, he won injunctions preventing competitors from selling products in packaging confusingly similar to our client’s sweetener. In 2006, Mr. Zalesin obtained a string of rulings in six states denying certification of putative classes of consumers who alleged that they had been deceived by advertising for our client’s product.
In addition to Lanham Act and consumer fraud matters, Mr. Zalesin serves as lead counsel to Fortune 50 clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech and computer software industries in cases involving patent and IP licensing issues. Last year, he obtained summary judgment on behalf of the world’s largest software company, demonstrating that a competitor’s patent on voice recognition technology was obvious as a matter of law. He recently co-tried a multi-billion dollar case on behalf of the world’s largest healthcare company over rights to one of the best selling biotech drugs.
Mr. Zalesin is listed in Chambers USA as a leading practitioner in the area of Advertising, where he is described as a “top-drawer,” “trustworthy” and “highly desired advertising litigator.” Clients praise his “superb conduct in front of judges and incredible industry knowledge.”
Euromoney/Institutional Investor’s Benchmark: America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys lists Mr. Zalesin as a “Litigation Star” in both our top-ranked Litigation group, as well as our Intellectual Property Litigation group, which is ranked in the top tier nationally. Mr. Zalesin has also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Advertising Law, and was recently named New York Advertising Lawyer of the Year for 2011.
Mr. Zalesin has substantial experience defending consumer class actions, and handles a variety of general commercial matters, including contract disputes. He has represented clients in numerous arbitration proceedings, and has successfully argued appeals in several circuits.