Mark C. Zauderer

Partner

Co-Chair, Litigation Department

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Mark C. Zauderer

Lawyer Information:

Name: Mark C. Zauderer
LinkedIn Profile
Phone: 212.485.0005 x401
Work Position: Partner
Department/Group: Co-Chair, Litigation Department
Email: mzauderer@dorflaw.com
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Lawyer overview

Mr. Zauderer is a prominent New York trial and appellate lawyer, has represented major corporations, prominent individuals, and a Presidential cabinet secretary in significant business, financial and commercial litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Areas of concentration include contracts, business torts, securities, real estate, legal and professional malpractice, shareholder rights, limited partnerships, defamation and fiduciary relationships in business, law firm and estate matters.

Mr. Zauderer frequently serves as an arbitrator and private mediator of significant disputes and is a member of the national roster of commercial arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and its International Centre for Dispute Resolution. He is a past President of the Federal Bar Council and is a member of the Board of Editors of the New York Law Journal.

In 2003, Mr. Zauderer was appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye as Chair of New York’s Commission on the Jury, a blue ribbon panel of lawyers and judges charged with finding ways to improve New York’s jury system. He also served as a member of the Chief Judge’s Commercial Courts Task Force, which implemented the establishment of the New York State Court System’s Commercial Division and as member of the Office of Court Administration’s Program on the Profession and the Courts, which drafted New York’s current sanctions rules. Mr. Zauderer is a past chair of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association, served as a delegate to its House of Delegates, as a member of the Special Committee on Cameras in the Courts, and chaired the Association’s Steering Committee on Commerce and Industry. He also served as a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Professional Responsibility, and the Committee on State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Mr. Zauderer currently serves as a member of the New York Governor’s Judicial Screening Committee for the Appellate Division, First Department and a member of the Chief Administrative Judge’s Advisory Committee on Civil Practice. In 2016, Mr. Zauderer delivered the commencement address at Touro Law School and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws.

In 2004, Mr. Zauderer served as a member of a four person delegation to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to advise on the establishment of a commercial court.

In 2012, Mr. Zauderer was appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman as a member of the Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century. In 2013, he was appointed by Chief Judge Lippman as a member of the permanent Advisory Committee of the Commercial Division. In 2015, Mr. Zauderer was appointed a Member of the Chief Judge’s Commission on Statewide Attorney Discipline, which made recommendations for the revisions of New York’s attorney discipline system. In 2015, he was honored by the New York Law Journal with its award for “Lawyers Who Lead By Example” for his contributions to public service.

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Zauderer was a partner at Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer.

Awards & Accomplishments

Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who America

New York Metro Super Lawyers® 2024 and 2025

New York Magazine’s “The New York Areas Best Lawyers”.

In 2007, he was awarded the Eliphalet Nott Medal for distinction in field by the Union College Board of Trustees.

In 2015, he was honored by the New York Law Journal with its award for “Lawyers Who Lead By Example” for his contributions to public service.

In 2016, Mr. Zauderer delivered the commencement address at Touro Law School and was awarded an honorary doctor of law as well. Click this link to watch the full address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Al_t62iaug

Past Memberships

Chair, The Commission on the Jury, 2003-2005

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Committees on: State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction, 1983-1987; Professional Discipline, 1987-1988; Committee on Judiciary, 1988-1991)

Office of Court Administration’s Program on the Profession and the Courts, Part 130 Subcommittee, 1996-1998

Union College Trustee Board of Advisors, 1993-1999

New York Commission on Statewide Attorney Discipline, 2015

Media

Mr. Zauderer frequently comments on legal issues in the print and television media on litigation related matters. He has been quoted and/or mentioned in the following articles and has appeared in the following interviews:

  • The April 4, 2026 New York Times DealBook article entitled “Trump Slashed Science Funding. Now the U.S. Could Face a Costly Brain Drain”
  • The January 14, 2026 episode of The Open Mind entitled “Counsel on the Law”
  • The January 2, 2026 Washington Post article entitled “Expert testimony or anti-Islam bias? Sex assault case tests legal limit”
  • The November 12, 2025 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Inside the Little-Known World of Private Judges for Hire”
  • The October 4, 2025 Feature by the British Times entitled “Despite the jail sentence, is Diddy already plotting his comeback?”
  • The October 1, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Sean ‘Diddy Combs’ Sentencing Is Friday: Here’s How Much Prison Time Legal Experts Think He May Get”
  • The August 22, 2025 Saudi Gazette article entitled “Appeals court throws out Trump’s $500m civil fraud penalty”
  • The August 21, 2025 New York Law Journal article entitled “Appeals Court Issues Mixed Ruling in Trump Fraud Case, Vacates Financial Penalties”
  • The August 21, 2025 Daily Guardian article entitled “Trump’s $500M Fraud Fine Overturned: Appeals Court Cites ‘Excessive’ Punishment”
  • The August 21, 2025 Wall Street Journal article entitled “N.Y. Appeals Court Throws Out $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump”
  • The July 3, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Here’s How Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Criminal Conviction Could Help Plaintiffs In His Dozens Of Civil Lawsuits”
  • The July 2, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Diddy Trial: Legal Experts Say Partial Verdict Could Ba A Bad Thing For Sean Combs”
  • The July 1, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Diddy Trial: Jurors Reach Verdict On 4 Of 5 Counts”
  • The June 30, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Judge Orders Diddy Jury To ‘Continue Deliberating’ After Concerns Over Juror No. 25”
  • The June 30, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Jury Begins Deliberating Criminal Case Against Diddy: Here’s Why A Verdict Is So Unpredictable”
  • The June 25, 2025 Miami Herald article entitled “Diddy’s sex crimes trial is winding down – and prosecutors just made a major move”
  • The June 25, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Diddy Trial: Prosecutors Drop Kid Cudi Arson Theory Ahead Of Closing Arguments”
  • The June 24, 2025 Forbes article entitled “Prosecutors Made A Strong Case Against Diddy—But Verdict Unpredictable—Legal Experts Say”
  • The June 24, 2025 NBC News article entitled “Sean ‘Diddy Combs’ defense won’t call any witnesses in sex trafficking trial”
  • The May 31, 2025 NBC News article entitled “A ‘criminal enterprise’ may be emerging in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial”
  • The May 26, 2025 NBC News article entitled “Diddy’s prosecutors must still prove their case on the most serious charges, outside lawyers say”
  • The May 17, 2025 NBC News article entitled “Cassie’s graphic testimony of ‘freak offs’ may set the stage for what’s to come in Diddy’s trial”
  • The May 12, 2025 NBC News article entitled “Attorneys in Sean Combs’ case set to present dueling narratives in trial openings”
  • The May 6, 2025 Reuters article entitled “Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs defense lawyers face uphill battle in bid to undermine accusers”
  • The April 15, 2025 New York Post Interview entitled “What to know about Sarah Palin’s libel lawsuit against the New York Times: expert”
  • The February 14, 2025 BBC article entitled “Who is Danielle Sassoon, prosecutor who quit in protest from Trump justice department?”
  • The February 11, 2025 Newsday article entitled “NYC Mayor Eric Adams thanks Department of Justice for ordering dismissal of criminal charges against him”
  • The January 10, 2025 New York Times article entitled “Trump can’t appeal his conviction until after sentencing. But he is already challenging it”
  • The January 7, 2025 New York Times article entitled “Appeals Court Judge Refuses to Halt Trump’s New York Sentencing”
  • The January 3, 2025 USA Today article entitled “Judge upholds Donald Trump’s conviction, sets sentencing for Jan. 10 with no penalty”
  • The December 16, 2024 Newsday top story entitled “NY Judge Upholds Trump Conviction”
  • The November 19, 2024 Newsday article entitled “New York prosecutors say they will oppose dismissing Donald Trump’s hush money conviction; agree to delay sentencing”
  • The November 12, 2024 New York Times article entitled “Emboldened by Re-election, Trump Renews Bid to Overturn His Conviction”
  • The November 12, 2024 Washington Post article entitled “No immunity decision in Trump’s hush money case as prosecutors weigh how to proceed”
  • The November 12, 2024 Newsday article entitled “Judge delays immunity ruling on President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money conviction”
  • The November 6, 2024 Newsday article entitled “Donald Trump’s election to the White House could delay hush money trial sentencing, kill pending criminal prosecutions, experts say”
  • The November 6, 2024 USA Today article entitled “Donald Trump’s victory means his criminal cases will likely be dropped or postponed”
  • The November 2024 Issue of AM New York Law in an article entitled “What to Know About State Supreme, Civil and Surrogate’s Court Positions On Your Nov. 5 Ballot”
  • The October 23 Featured New York Law Journal article entitled “Fraud ‘Beyond Doubt’: Judge Awards $1.6 Billion Over Delayed Resort Development”
  • The October 21 Law360 article entitled “Baha Mar Developer Wins $1.6B Verdict Over Delays”
  • The September 8, 2024 New York Times article entitled “After Year of Legal Peril, Trump Is Free For Election.”
  • The September 5, 2024 episode of NewsNation
  • The July 27, 2024 USA Today article entitled “The best justice money can buy: Donald Trump pursues legal challenges others can’t afford.”
  • The July 2, 2024 Newsday article entitled “Former President Donald Trump’s sentencing postponed until Sept. 18 following high court immunity ruling.”
  • The July 1, 2024 BBC article entitled “Could this affect Trump’s felony conviction? Probably not.”
  • The June 10, 2024 episode of “Honestly with Bari Weiss” entitled “BONUS: Is the Trump Verdict a Witch Trial? Or Justice?”
  • The June 3, 2024 interview on MSNBC TV
  • The June 1, 2024 New York Times article entitled “Trump Has Few Ways to Overturn His Conviction as a New York Felon”
  • The May 28, 2024 MSNBC TV episode of “Trump on Trial: New York v. Donald Trump”
  • The May 22, 2024 Washington Post article entitled “Did Trump’s lawyers do enough to damage Michael Cohen’s testimony?”
  • The May 21, 2024 MSNBC TV episode of “Trump on Trial: New York v. Donald Trump”
  • The April 11, 2024 New York Law Journal article entitled “New York Commercial Division Adopts New Rules on Tech Disputes, Nonjudicial Referees”
  • The March 25, 2024 New York Times article entitled “Trump’s Options Dwindle as $454 Million Judgment Bears Down on Him”
  • The March 25, 2024 Fox Business video interview entitled “New York court agrees to hold off on collecting Trump’s $454 fraud line”
  • The March 22, 2024 Morningstar article entitled “A Truth Social windfall likely won’t solve Trump’s immediate financial crisis”
  • The March 21, 2024 Forbes article entitled “Why Seizing Trump’s Assets – Like Trump Tower – Won’t Be Quick Or Easy”
  • The March 19, 2024 Morningstar article entitled “New York attorney general has Trump backed into a financial corner. He may not be able to get out”
  • The March 18, 2024 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Trump Says He Can’t Secure Bond for $454 Million Civil-Fraud Judgment”
  • The February 29, 2024 Salon article entitled “‘Trump’s in a corner’: Judge comes down ‘very hard’ after Trump seeks discount on fraud penalty”
  • The February 29, 2024 Business Insider article entitled “Trump wants a 78% discount on his bond while he appeal the massive $454 million judgment against him”
  • The February 28, 2024 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Judge Denies Trump Request to Pause $355 Million Ruling”
  • The February 28, 2024 New York Times article entitled “Trump Rebuffed After Asking a Judge to Delay His $454 Million Penalty”
  • The February 28, 2024 USA TODAY article entitled “Unable to cover full amount, Donald Trump offers to post $100M to appeal $454 fraud judgment”
  • The February 28, 2024 International Business Times article entitled “Trump Seeks $100M Bond In Legal Clash Over $454M Fraud Judgment”
  • The February 26, 2024 Washington Post article entitled “Clock is ticking for Trump to post bonds worth half a billion dollars”
  • The February 24, 2024 New York Times article entitled “Donald J. Trump Is Racing Against Time to Find a Half-Billion Dollar Bond”
  • The February 21, 2024 USA TODAY article entitled “Was Trump’s New York fraud case a victimless crime? Why that question is key to his appeal”
  • The February 17, 2024 Wall Street Journal video interview entitled “Trump’s $355 Million Penalty: New York Lawyer Explains Civil-Fraud Ruling”
  • The January 29, 2024 Crain’s New York Business article entitled “Westchester law firm opens Midtown office”
  • The January 11, 2024 Wall Street Journal video interview entitled “Trump Civil-Fraud Trial Explained: Why His business Empire Is at Stake”
  • The November 30, 2023 New York Law journal article entitled “Millions at Stake for Small Business in Review of ‘Good Guy Guaranty’”
  • The November 14, 2023 New York Law Journal article entitled “State Court Cases Against WeWork Could Have Edge in Bankruptcy Case”
  • The November 13, 2023 Bloomberg Law article entitled “Menendez Judge Called Fair-Minded ‘Giant’ of New York Court”
  • The November 8, 2023 New York Law Journal article entitled “Ivanka Trump Emails with Husband Revealed at AG Business Fraud trial”
  • The October 25, 2023 New York Law Journal article entitled “Judge Declines to Dismiss Business Fraud Case Against Donald Trump After a Turbulent Day in Court”
  • The October 1, 2023 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Trumps’ Wallet- and Reputation- to Be Tested in Civil-Fraud Trial”.
  • The January 9, 2023 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Are Veterans of Ghislaine Maxwell and ‘El Chapo’ Cases”
  • The June 20, 2018 Yahoo Finance article entitled “Rennert, Arnold & Porter Head Toward Settlement in $214M Malpractice Case”

Mr. Zauderer has been featured on the PBS television program, “The Open Mind” including:

  • “The Jury System on Trial”
  • “Forcing Lawyers to Retire”
  • “The Law, Fitting a Profession Into The Business Model”
  • “A Newer Look At Cameras in the Courts”
  • “On Lawyers, Judges and Justice in America”
  • “The Legal Brain-Scape: Neuroscience and the Law”
  • “A New York Times Editorial, 5/7/2012: The Cautionary Tale of Dewey & LeBoeuf”
  • “In The Name of the Law …”
  • “Mandatory Judicial Retirement”

Publications, Presentations, Lectures & Teaching Experience

Author, “Opinion: Trump’s trials are turning all of us into legal scholars,” Los Angeles Times, July, 2024

Author, “Trump complains he can’t get a fair trial in NY. He’s wrong” The Boston Globe, April, 2024

Panelist, “Mandatory Alternative Dispute Resolution Clauses in Corporate Contracts,” New York City Bar, New York, November, 2016

Panelist, Breakfast Series: “Keeping Up With Changes In the Commercial Division Rules,” New York City Bar Association, 2016

Panelist, “Ethical Considerations Of Alternative Fee Arrangements”, New York City Bar Association, 2015

Author, “Only Whites Need Apply – The Strange Case of Stuyvesant Town,” New York State Bar Journal, September, 2015

Moderator, “The Roosevelt Court” Federal Bar Council Fall Bar Conference, Pocono Manor, PA, 2014

Moderator, “The Roosevelt Court” Federal Bar Council Winter Bench and Bar Conference, Curacao, 2013

Faculty Member, New York State Bar Association Program, “Civility and Ethics in Civil Litigation,” New York City, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Moderator, Panel for “Federal and State Judicial Issues” Federal Bar Council Winter Bench and Bar Conference, Los Cabos, Mexico, 2011

Moderator, “Neuroscience and the Law,” Second Circuit Judicial Conference, Lake George, New York, 2011

Moderator, New York State Bar Association, Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Program, “How To Win (And Lose) A Preliminary Injunction in Federal and State Court,” 2010

Moderator, Practising Law Institute Program, “Judges Pet Peeves,” New York City, 1999, 2001 and 2010

Panelist, “Libel Terrorism,” American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C., 2009

Panelist, “Where to go for Relief,” Federal Bar Council Winter Bench and Bar Conference, Nevis, West Indies, 2008

Panelist, “Great Trials of the 20th Century,” Federal Bar Council Fall Conference, Lenox, Massachusetts, 2007

Panelist, “High Profile Cases,” Federal Bar Council Winter Bench and Bar Conference, Kona, Hawaii, 2005

Moderator, Program on Civility, New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting, 2004

Lecturer to New York State trial judges at Judicial Institute, 2003

Trial Demonstration, “The Trial of a Commercial Case: Successful Tactics and Techniques,” New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting, 2002

Faculty Chair, New York State Bar Association Program, “Deposition Practice in State and Federal Courts,” New York City, Albany and Uniondale, 1993, 2002

Faculty Member, New York State Bar Association Program, “How to Try a Commercial Case,” New York City and Uniondale, 1993, 2002

Faculty Member, New York State Bar Association Program, “Basic Federal Civil Practice,” 2001

Faculty Member, New York State Bar Association Program, “Successfully Litigating a Commercial Case – Advanced Issues,” New York City and Huntington, 2000 and 2001

Faculty Member, New York State Bar Association Program, “Ethics ’99: An Update on Recent Developments and Guide to Safe Navigation,” Manchester, Vermont, 1999

Faculty Member, Association of the Bar, City of New York, “Litigating in the Commercial Division of New York State Court,” 1998

Faculty Member, Practising Law Institute Program, “How to Begin a Civil Action,” New York, 1998

Faculty Member, Association of the Bar, City of New York, “Anatomy of a Trial,” 1997

Faculty Member, Practising Law Institute Program, “Current Problems in Federal Civil Practice,” 1994, 1996

“Competing Purchaser Issues in Real Estate Transactions,” International Council of Shopping Centers Law Conference, Orlando, Florida, 1994

Faculty Co-Chair, New York State Bar Association Program, “Strategy and Tactics in Business and Commercial Litigation,” New York City, Rochester and Buffalo, 1990; 1991 and 1994

Faculty Member, New York State Bar Association Program, “The Commercial Parts: One Year Later,” New York City, 1994

Author, “Effective Discovery in Business and Commercial Cases in State Court,” New York State Bar Journal, May-June, 1993

Faculty Member, New York State Bar Associations Programs, “How to Settle a Commercial Case,” New York City and Rochester, 1992

Faculty Member, Practising Law Institute Program, “Deposition Skills Training Program,” New York, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990

Moderator, Practising Law Institute Satellite Television Broadcast, “Deposition Strategy and Tactics,” 1989

Faculty Co-Chair, Practicing Law Institute Program, “Litigating Commercial Cases up to Trial,” New York and San Francisco, 1986

Representative Matters

  • Trials of complex partnership disputes.
  • Representation of major national and international companies in complex business disputes at trial and on appeal.
  • Defense co-counsel in a suit brought by Eliot Spitzer, who was at the time the attorney general of New York State, against the former chief of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Grasso, to recover Grasso’s allegedly improper $187.5 million pay package. All claims against Grasso were eventually dismissed.
  • Obtaining a dismissal of a $500 million malpractice suit against the international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke.
  • Representation of a group of 57 former partners from the failed law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in a highly publicized bankruptcy proceeding seeking to claw back pay and other benefits from the former partners.
  • An appointment as referee with all the powers of the New York Supreme Court, to adjudicate all disputes between the partners of the national law firm Napoli Bern, and to oversee the dissolution of the firm and transition of its 24,000 clients.
  • Representation of former Clinton administration cabinet member Ronald Brown, at the time the United States Secretary of Commerce, in a lawsuit brought against him and the major television networks by former presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy. McCarthy alleged that Brown, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, had improperly excluded him and others from the televised 1992 presidential debates. The claims against Brown were dismissed.
  • Defense of antitrust and securities class actions.
  • The successful appeal of a seminal case defining the extent of the extraterritorial application of the U.S. Securities Laws. Itoba Ltd. v. Lep Group PLC, 54 F.3d 118 (2d Cir. 1995), denied, 516 U.S. 1044 (1996).
  • SEC investigations, including representation of a major university in connection with an insider trading investigation.
  • Acting as lead trial counsel in significant real estate disputes involving such issues as restrictive covenants, claims arising out of diversion of water, claims of competing purchasers, real estate brokerage disputes, and easements.
  • Representation of major companies and individuals in Federal and State government investigations.
  • Representation of major law firms in complex litigations and trials involving breach of fiduciary claims by former partners, and in significant malpractice matters.
  • Court appointment as special referee.
  • Service as arbitrator and as a private and court-appointed mediator in major business disputes.
  • Service as a director of the New York International Arbitration Center and as member of the National Roster of AAA Commercial Arbitrators.