345 Park Avenue
New York, NY
10154
 212.407.4960
 212.208.2582
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Michael
P.
Zweig
Partner
Michael P. Zweig has a diverse national litigation practice with an emphasis on complex litigation, business torts, entertainment, employment and advertising/media matters.
Notable corporate representations have involved clients from a wide variety of industry groups, including media and advertising, financial services, film, television and theatre, real estate and insurance brokerage.
Mr. Zweig has litigated and arbitrated cases throughout the United States, frequently through trial, and has represented numerous clients in high profile, high-stakes litigation involving false advertising and deceptive trade practices (including Attorney General investigations), shareholder, partnership and accounting disputes, contract, right of publicity, defamation and a wide variety of employment-related litigation (restrictive covenant/trade secret litigation, discrimination, harassment).
In March of 2001, he served as counsel to the S.D.N.Y. Special Master with respect to the settlement of the Austrian Holocaust Litigation.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Zweig served as special counsel to the New York State Assembly on Environmental Conservation, coordinating New York State’s Love Canal investigation. He also conducted extensive legislative hearings concerning the dumping of hazardous substances throughout western New York State.
Mr. Zweig has also been a speaker on issues relating to media and advertising, class actions, email and electronic discovery, and crisis public relations, at continuing legal education seminars sponsored by the American Bar Association, the Bureau of National Affairs, the UCLA Law Symposium and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Representative Experience
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Multiple Partnership and LLC disputes, mediations, arbitrations and litigations.
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Multiple litigations concerning shareholder valuation issues.
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Secured historic $5 million settlement for filmmaker Woody Allen in his right-to-privacy lawsuit against American Apparel, Inc., for misuse of his image. The settlement was the largest amount paid in the history of the New York statute (Woody Allen v. American Apparel, Inc.).
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As a lead counsel in a landmark antitrust and race discrimination case (Rowe v. William Morris), secured summary judgment dismissal of all claims, affirmed by the Second Circuit.
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Lead counsel in a summary judgment dismissal of a Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 17200 case, redefining the legal standard for deceptive and misleading advertising claims (Haskell v. American Family Publishers).
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Represented Woody Allen in his lawsuit and trial against Mr. Allen's former producers, recovering unpaid profit participations from eight films, as well as securing contempt finding and attorneys' fees.
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Lead trial counsel in shareholder valuation disputes resulting in dismissal of claims and award of attorneys' fees (Owen v. Soundview Technology Group, Inc., Glick v. William Morris Agency).
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Principal negotiator of a settlement agreement with 32 state attorneys general involving false advertising and deceptive trade practices, also negotiating seven separate agreements with attorneys general (American Family Publishers’ Business Practice Litigation).
Publications/Speeches
- Author, Entertainment, Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Third Edition (December 2011)
- Speaker, IP and Entertainment Litigation and Advanced Media and Technology Free CLE Webinar: Developing Trends in the Right of Publicity (April 1, 2010)
- Author, When Vulgar Language in the Workplace Is Sexual Harassment, The Delaney Report (April 2010)
- Speaker, Getting Your House in Order: Estate and Business Continuity Planning for the Next Decade, New York, New York (January 27, 2010)
- Author, Employer Can Be Liable for Discrimination by an Independent Contractor Acting on Behalf of the Employer (December 2009)
- Author, Employment Contracts For The New Economy, The Delaney Report (November 2009)
- Speaker, 22nd National Advanced Corporate Counsel Forum on Advertising Law (Responding to Government Investigations and Enforcement Actions), New York, New York (January 26-27, 2009)
- Speaker, Mastering A Winning Strategy, the Discovery Process for the General Counsel, Incisive Media, New York, New York (November 2008)
Media Mentions
Affiliations
- Member, American Bar Association
- Former Vice Chair, Committee on Consumer Protection, Antitrust Section, American Bar Association
- Member, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
- Member, Federal Bar Council and Second Circuit Courts Committee
- Editor, Legal Perspectives Section, The Delaney Report, a publication for the advertising, marketing, and media industries
- Member of Board of Directors, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, Inc.
- Member of Board of Directors, Wheels of Progress, Inc.
Distinctions
- Awarded Loeb & Loeb's Third Annual Award for Community Service and Professional Achievement (2005)
- Named "Best Lawyer" in Labor & Employment Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America, published by Woodward White, Inc. (2013)
- Named "New York Super Lawyer" in General Litigation by Thomson Reuters (2006-2012)
- Listed in Who's Who in American Law
- Highest "AV Preeminent (5 out of 5)" Professional Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
- Co-Chair, Employment and Labor Practice Group; Chair, Former Chair, Litigation Department (New York)
- Chairperson, Loeb & Loeb Diversity Initiative Committee (2002 - 2010)
- Loeb & Loeb General Counsel (New York)
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New York University School of Law, J.D., 1977, Member, Annual Survey of American Law
Cornell University, B.A., 1974, with Distinction
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1978
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1978
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
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