Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Litigation; False Advertising

Steve Zalesin is a nationally recognized trial lawyer with extensive experience in intellectual property, false advertising and complex commercial matters. He has successfully tried cases and argued appeals in numerous courts throughout the United States. For more than 30 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 recent years he has successfully defended major beverage, pet food, health care and confectionary companies, defeating claims by key rivals. He currently represents several of the world’s largest consumer products companies in high-profile disputes over the labeling and advertising for their flagship products. Mr. Zalesin has substantial experience defending consumer class actions, and regularly represents biopharmaceutical and medical device innovators in patent, trademark and licensing disputes. Mr. Zalesin was recently recognized in the 2021 Chambers USA Guide, and is described by references as “terrific - highly strategic and remarkably efficient, bringing the value of years of experience and a myriad of professional contacts to bear on each matter in a straightforward, soft-spoken way. That ensures we get to great outcomes in a very efficient way.” “He is extremely smart and knows the law backwards and forwards.” “He is terrific - a go-to lawyer in the industry and a force to be reckoned with in the Lanham Act space.” In 2016, Mr. Zalesin secured a federal jury verdict for the world’s leading beverage company in a closely-watched advertising dispute over juice labeling. Mr. Zalesin initially obtained summary judgment dismissing the claims against our client, and successfully defended that ruling before the Ninth Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court subsequently vacated the Ninth Circuit’s decision, and remanded the case for trial. The Los Angeles jury rejected the plaintiff’s claim in full, returning a verdict in our client’s favor after a six-day trial and less than a day of deliberation. As a result of the favorable verdict, Mr. Zalesin was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer (March 24, 2016). In 2020, he obtained dismissal of a class action complaint that targeted a leading online petitioning platform and its efforts to promote racial justice.

Admitted in: U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit; Third Circuit; Seventh Circuit; Eighth Circuit; Ninth Circuit; Federal Circuit; D.C. Circuit; U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Eastern District of Wisconsin; Northern District of Florida; New York

J.D., 1985, University of Pennsylvania Law School (cum laude, Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review); B.S., 1982, Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications (magna cum laude)