Department profile
Phillips Lytle LLP

Litigation: General Commercial

USA Guide 2026 : New York: Upstate

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Phillips Lytle LLP

Rankings

About

Provided by Phillips Lytle LLP

Phillips Lytle's litigation practice is recognized nationally for its outstanding trial and appellate work. We have a sophisticated team of commercial litigators who have extensive experience in all phases of business disputes, including those involving banking, contracts, sales and product distribution, services, financing, construction, insurance coverage, joint ventures, employment, franchising, licensing, leasing, land use, real estate finance and development, energy, trusts, charitable organizations, shareholder and partnership disputes, consumer finance defense, professional liability and machinery/technology warranties. 

Phillips Lytle's litigation experience includes handling commercial matters throughout the country in both trial and appellate courts, in the Federal and State judicial systems and before arbitration panels. 

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Litigation: General Commercial - New York: Upstate

Band 1

What the Team is Known For
Phillips Lytle LLP has a standout litigation practice with capabilities across a broad range of commercial disputes. The firm fields an excellent bench of litigators with extensive experience at trial and appellate levels. The team's expertise includes insurance coverage, construction, employment and contractual disputes. It is also noted for its strength in white-collar criminal litigation and government investigations.
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Work Highlights

Provided by Chambers

  • Phillips Lytle represented Ford Motor Credit Company in commercial litigations brought for breach of contract, fraudulent conveyance matters and bankruptcy.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

  • Their team consistently demonstrates a high degree of professionalism and efficiency. Whenever we have questions or require guidance, they respond promptly and with clear, actionable advice. What stands out most is their ability to anticipate potential issues and provide proactive solutions, which saves time and minimizes risk. Communication is always thorough yet concise, and they make complex legal matters easy to understand. Overall, their responsiveness and commitment to client service have exceeded expectations.

    Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

  • Phillips Lytle has a deep experience in complex financial‑services and technology disputes. It really understood our business and did a good job of distilling complex issues into actional tasks. The team is very personable and responsive.

    Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

  • They are incredibly attentive to the details of the documents, the behaviors of those involved and their approach. They not only demonstrate an understanding of the law, but an understanding of people. We have been very impressed at their ability to be composed under pressure and prepared for every next step. We feel incredibly supported.

    Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

  • The department has many years of experience and knowledge to lead it through the many decisions and strategy aspects for the matters under management. It holds regular meetings to share the knowledge gained and to develop standards along with quality checklists for other team members to use in their practices.

    Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

  • This team has shown exceptional responsiveness, business-focused advice and strong communication. It made a complex, multi-jurisdictional process manageable and consistently demonstrated reliability and professionalism.

    Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

  • Edward S. Bloomberg
    Edward S. Bloomberg

    Edward S. Bloomberg

    Edward Bloomberg draws on four decades of experience to advise clients facing complex commercial disputes. He offers expertise in litigation involving healthcare, insurance and intellectual property, among other areas.

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  • Kevin J. English
    Kevin J. English

    Kevin J. English

    Kevin English is Of Counsel and draws on his significant strengths in commercial disputes. Clients regularly turn to him to advise on breach of contract claims and wider corporate litigation.

    • Kevin English is outstanding. He is an excellent, responsive attorney.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Kevin English is a well-respected lawyer.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Kevin is incredibly knowledgeable and practical in his handling of matters. He is dependable, honest and hard-working.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA
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  • Preston Zarlock
    Preston Zarlock

    Preston Zarlock

    Preston Zarlock maintains a solid reputation for his abilities as a tenacious litigator. He frequently acts for clients in commercial disputes and class actions, with experience handling product liability, construction litigation and insurance coverage matters.

    • Preston Zarlock is a top-notch litigator.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Preston is an outstanding attorney. He is razor sharp.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Preston is a trusted expert in his field.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • I look to Preston for not only substantive advice, but also practical, commercial advice.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA
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  • Craig A. Leslie
    Craig A. Leslie

    Craig A. Leslie

    Craig Leslie has a broad base of commercial litigation expertise, including cases involving product liability, bankruptcy and real estate issues. He leads the litigation group and co-leads the appellate practice at Phillips Lytle LLP.

    • Craig Leslie is excellent. He does a great job helping and supporting me through matters.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Craig is highly organized and reliably gives quick results.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • I cannot thank Craig enough for the excellent job and total professionalism.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Craig Leslie has been very helpful.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA
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  • John G. Schmidt Jr
    John G. Schmidt Jr

    John G. Schmidt Jr

    John Schmidt continues to assist with a broad range of contentious matters. Clients call upon his abilities across the gamut of commercial litigation and white-collar criminal cases.

    • John delivers impressive versatility in state and federal courts, spanning trial and appellate matters.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • John continues to be a stalwart litigator for the company. There is no matter that we cannot entrust to this highly capable, hard-charging litigator. You want this lawyer in your corner and on your team.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • John Schmidt assesses and evaluates each matter and aggressively defends the client's interests.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • John is a great litigator and a trusted adviser.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • John is excellent to work with and has been instrumental in helping us navigate legal issues.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA
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  • Anna Mercado Clark
    Anna Mercado Clark

    Anna Mercado Clark

    Anna Mercado Clark leads the firm's data privacy and cybersecurity and e-discovery practice teams and is well equipped to represent clients hailing from the technology and healthcare sectors in commercial disputes. She is seasoned in handling litigations and class actions stemming from breach of contract, data protection and antitrust matters. She is also an expert in e-Discovery topics.

    • Anna Mercado Clark is very good with detailed data.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Anna instills quality checkpoints and frequent reporting on progress to make sure timelines and budgets will be met. She is a subject matter expert on e-Discovery and data breach incidents.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Anna is an expert in cyber matters and has provided excellent guidance in matters of privacy.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Anna is spectacular. When she thinks something is important for her client, she will go to the mat, fighting for it.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA
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  • Tristan Hujer
    Tristan Hujer

    Tristan Hujer

    Tristan Hujer is regularly called on to defend clients in commercial litigations and arbitrations concerning trade secrets, insurance matters and breaches of contract. Technology companies, consumer goods groups and insurance outfits rely on his expertise in this arena.

    • Tristan Hujer is thoughtful in terms of case development and case presentation. He is very professional in all regards.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • I have had very good experiences with Tristan working on sophisticated matters. He is able to understand a client's needs very quickly and develop practical strategies to achieve results.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Tristan has been extremely professional and knowledgeable guiding us through this litigation.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Tristan has assisted the company in complex litigation and provided excellent outcomes in commercial matters. He learned the nuances of highly complex commercial matters, appropriately pulling in firm expertise where needed, and did so efficiently and effectively. He is often the lead producer of work product on these matters and is highly skilled.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA

    • Tristan is a standout litigation partner because he combines first‑rate advocacy with business‑oriented judgment. He is highly effective at coordinating among client, co‑counsel and insurers, and is unusually disciplined on case strategy and communication cadence.

      Litigation: General Commercial respondentUSA
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Ranked Individuals at Phillips Lytle LLP (7)

New York: Upstate

Members

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