Profile
Stephen L. Saxl is the Co-Chair of the Class Action Litigation Group. He concentrates his practice on defending class actions and complex litigation matters in federal court and New York State courts. His class action experience includes cases in the securities, retail, telecommunications, publishing, insurance, Internet and tobacco industries. He has defended clients against statutory and common law claims including fraud, unfair trade practices, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO), breach of contract and price-fixing.
Concentrations
- Class actions
- Complex civil litigation
- Securities and broker-dealer litigation
- Commercial litigation
- Consumer litigation
- Antitrust
- Media
- Privacy litigation
- Product liability
Capabilities
Experience
- Defeated class certification in consumer class action for leading retailer.
- Obtained dismissal of securities class action for major broker-dealer. The class action was brought on behalf of a putative class that challenged the entire market for auction rate securities.
- Argued and won class certification appeal.
- Briefed class certification in numerous cases, including putative nationwide tobacco class actions.
- Argued appeal for national leveraged buy-out firm obtaining dismissal of finder’s fee claim.
- Obtained dismissal of numerous fraud and contract cases.
- Won dismissal of 78 class actions in 12 states against First American in a series of class actions involving pricing of title insurance.
- Served as lead counsel for the defense in a consumer class action brought under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (“FACTA”) in United States District Court.
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, Lawdragon, “500 Leading Litigators in America,” 2022-2025
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, New York Metro Super Lawyers, 2024
- Team Member, a Law360 “Product Liability Practice Group of the Year,” 2021-2022
- Team Member, U.S. News - Best Lawyers’ “Best Law Firms” Tier 1 Ranking, “Mass Torts/ Class Actions – Defendants,” 2021
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States
- Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action- Defense: Consumer Products (Including Tobacco), "Recommended Lawyer," 2023-2024
- Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes, 2019
- Team Member, The American Lawyer’s “Products Liability Litigation Department of the Year,” 2018
- Board of Directors, Mobilization for Justice
- Member, American Bar Association
- Former Member, Judiciary Committee, Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Credentials
Education
-
J.D., Yale Law School, 1989
- Notes editor, Yale Law Journal
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A.B., History, magna cum laude, Brown University, 1985
- Phi Beta Kappa
Clerkships
- Hon. Charles P. Sifton, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 1989-1990
Admissions
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York