Experience
Having been a general counsel and senior level in-house attorney for more than two decades, Steve Baden is effective at managing and resolving the complex legal needs of businesses. He represents clients in consumer goods, manufacturing, aviation, direct sales, medical marijuana and other sectors. Steve advises clients on matters involving contract review and drafting, complex litigation; employment; independent contractor/employee classification; product liability; intellectual property; consumer sales trade practices; marketing, advertising and promotion regulatory compliance; equipment and real estate leasing; and vendor, product manufacturing and distribution agreements.
Steve enjoys walking and hiking in the Cleveland Metroparks with his wife, four children and two dogs; movies; reading; traveling; and Cleveland sports teams.
Representative Matters
- Won a directed verdict in Texas state court (upheld on appeal) ruling that the relationship between a company and its factory distributors is an independent contractor relationship and not an employer‐employee relationship.
- Obtained a federal court ruling that a company’s non‐compete and non‐solicitation contractual provisions with its factory distributors were valid and applied worldwide.
- Oversaw the drafting and legal negotiations of manufacturing and purchasing agreements, trademark licenses and technology licenses.
- Reviewed and negotiated leases for a nationwide network of over 25 power equipment repair stores.
- Reviewed, negotiated and drafted product purchase and distribution agreements with major national retailers.
- Managed a legal team in China and the United States who achieved the successful seizure and destruction of counterfeit products and the criminal prosecution of the infringer.
- Managed the domestic and international trademark prosecution and enforcement of a large portfolio of trademark applications and registrations for existing products and product launches.
- Resolved investigative demands by attorneys general of Connecticut, Ohio and Florida.
- Successfully resolved an investigation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Bar Admissions
- Ohio Supreme Court
- United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- Ohio
Education
- The Ohio State University (B.A., 1980)
- Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (J.D., 1984)