Lawyer Overview
Ira Matetsky is a Partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department. He is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney and has resolved hundreds of complex commercial, contract, real estate, securities, and employment disputes. Mr. Matetsky has litigated and arbitrated shareholder conflicts, product liability and class action lawsuits, as well as executive compensation, non-competition and trusts and estates matters.
Mr. Matetsky also serves as Dorf Nelson & Zauderer’s General Counsel. In this role, he helps to guide our firm’s legal strategy, ensures compliance, and supports our commitment to delivering exceptional client service. He is instrumental in overseeing the firm’s legal operations, advising on complex matters, and driving initiatives that align with the firm’s mission and values.
Mr. Matetsky’s prior experience as senior counsel at a major international food and beverage company and a member of the commercial and securities litigation practice of a global law firm informs his approach to cases and clients. He draws upon that ground-level perspective to design strategies and tactics that yield the best possible outcomes.
Mr. Matetsky writes and edits a number of publications devoted to the finer points of legal practice. He is regularly cited as a legal expert by media sources including CNBC, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, and The National Law Journal.
Mr. Matetsky is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of In-Chambers Practice, the successor publication to In-Chambers Opinions by the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and is a Master of the New York American Inn of Court.
Outside of the courtroom, Mr. Matetsky has applied his considerable dispute resolution skills as one of 15 elected members – and the longest-serving member – of Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Matetsky was a partner at Ganfer Shore Leeds & Zauderer for 19 years.
Awards & Accomplishments
Best Lawyers in America® 2025 and 2026 Editions
New York Metro Super Lawyers® 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025
Publications
Selected Publications
“What Lawyers Now Need To Know About COVID-19 Tolling in New York,” New York Law Journal (2024).
“New York Legislature Considers Amending RPAPL § 881,” 50 New York Real Property Law Journal, no. 1, at 16 (2023) (with John P. Amato).
“Ensuring the Safety and Security of New York Coops and Condos: Avoiding a Surfside Collapse in the Big Apple” (Parts 1 and 2), 49 New York Real Property Law Journal, no. 1, at 48; vol. 49, no. 2, at 20 (2022).
“Chief Justice Hughes and Martin Manton’s Appeal,” 2020 Green Bag Almanac & Reader 279, 10 Journal of Law 321 (2020).
“In-Chambers Opinions and the Bluebook,” 10 Journal of Law (4 Journal of In-Chambers Practice) 117 (2020).
“The Longest-Serving Justice Retires; Or, How Stephen Preempted the Field,” 24 Green Bag 2d 43 (2020).
“‘The Circuit Justice Is a Very Important Person’: Did In-Chambers Concerns Help Derail a Supreme Court Nominee?,” 8 Journal of Law (3 Journal of In-Chambers Practice) 9 (2018).
“Clerking for God’s Grandfather: Chauncey Belknap’s Year with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.,” 43 J. Sup. Ct. History 257 (2018) (with Todd C. Peppers et al.).
“General Counsels for New York Law Firms: An Idea Whose Times Has Come,” New York State Bar Journal (2016).
“The Current State of In-Chambers Practice,” 1 Journal of In-Chambers Practice (6 Journal of Law) 9 (2016).
“Ensuring Effectiveness of Forum-Selection Clauses,” New York Law Journal, April 22, 2015.
“The Waite Funds,” 18 Green Bag 2d 173 (2015).
“The Harlan Fund,” 16 Green Bag 2d 23 (2012).
“Nero Wolfe, Rex Stout, the Language, and the Law,” 2012 Green Bag Almanac & Reader 91.
“Ignoring Rule 0.23: Citing Summary Orders in the Second Circuit,” New York Law Journal (Feb. 9, 2004).
The Footnote Argument – Sustained at Last?, 6 Green Bag 2d 33 (Autumn 2002).
Editorships
Co-Editor, The Green Bag Almanac and Reader 2012; Member of the Board of Advisors, 2008-present.
Editor, The Journal of In-Chambers Practice, formerly In-Chambers Opinions by the Members of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2005-present.
Representative Matters
- Coordinated litigation, as lead counsel, in jurisdictions including the United States, Israel and Curaçao (former Netherlands Antilles) for a group of minority shareholders in an Israeli-headquartered earth-observation satellite company
- Represented an iconic comic-book writer and editor in intellectual property matters in New York and California
- Represented New York City cooperatives and condominiums in various litigations, including a suit by a group of tenant-shareholders which sought to enjoin a renovation project, a suit by a tenant-shareholder who sought to enjoin the cooperative from paying for necessary repairs, and disputes concerning governance and elections
- Represented companies and employees in disputes concerning executive compensation, benefits, and non-competition agreements
- Represented a New York City condominium in litigation against a commercial unit owner as to a common charge dispute
- Represented a brokerage firm in defeating a claim by a former broker over calculation of employment compensation
- Represented a privately held corporation in defense of industry-wide, multidistrict products-liability claims
- Represented independent directors of a public corporation against class-action shareholder claims