Anthony E. DiResta

Anthony E. (“Tony”) DiResta, who joined Reed Smith in 2006, has a practice which focuses on complex commercial litigation (trial and appellate), governmental investigations (principally before the Federal Trade Commission), white collar defense, and business counseling.  While he has experience in a wide range of industries, Tony concentrates on trade and consumer regulation, antitrust and unfair competition, business torts, and contractual disputes. 

Tony was the Regional Director of the Southeast Regional Office for the Federal Trade Commission.  His responsibilities there included supervising many of the enforcement, investigative, litigation and outreach activities of the Competition and Consumer Protection Bureaus of the agency throughout the Region, and under his leadership, the Southeast Regional Office received the John Marshall Award from the Attorney General of the United States for its enforcement achievements.

Tony is the author of numerous articles and publications – many of which have been cited by the courts and law journals including the U.S. Supreme Court – and he frequently serves as an expert on professional and educational panels. 

A member of the American Law Institute, Tony has held various leadership positions in the American Bar Association, Section of Litigation.  He has been involved in several significant pro bono legal projects, and received the Sunshine Award from the Society of Professional Journalists.  In addition, he is heavily involved in community service relating to the performing arts. 

Thoughts on Advertising:  Advertising and marketing are the fulcrum of any successful business venture.  Creative and well-crafted messages need to be formulated and properly disseminated to customers and potential customers.  The law of advertising and marketing flows from a simple, but ambiguous, principle:  communications designed to influence purchasing decisions cannot be deceptive or unfair.  If this principle is not followed or challenged, disputes with competitors or the government can follow.  Therefore, sound legal advice is critical to avoid unnecessary risks, determine appropriate courses of action, or aid in the prosecution or defense of disputes.

The Federal Trade Commission is the federal governmental agency empowered to investigate and regulate such marketing communications.  The agency's laws, regulations, and guidelines concerning these communications touch upon almost all aspects of a company's marketing and advertising practices, and include topics such as:  

• Internet marketing and on-line transactions
• Spam and commercial e-mailing
• Solicitation on electronic mail, through facsimile, and by telephone
• Privacy
• Comparative advertising
• Substantiation of advertising claims
• Endorsement and testimonials in advertising
• Pricing
• Use of the terms “free” and “rebate”
• Infomercials
• Guarantees and warranties
• “Made in the U.S.A.”
• Multi-level marketing
• Contests, sweepstakes, and games of chance
• Consumer credit (including credit reporting, credit billing, and truth-in-lending)
• Debt collection
• Franchise and business opportunities
• Telemarketing
• Mail orders
• Group-specific target marketing (e.g., children, senior citizens, Hispanic citizens)
• Advertising and consumer regulations in specific industries (e.g., food, alcohol, medical products, funeral, jewelry, motor vehicles, retail food stores, drugs)
• Use of 900 numbers
• Labeling (e.g., clothing, appliances, cosmetics, drugs, food, furs, hazardous substances, tires)
• Media (e.g., television advertising)
• Defamation, publicity, and privacy rights

In addition, the FTC has identified several industries that are "targets" for investigations and enforcement actions, including:

• e-commerce/ technology (on-line marketing; on-line transactions – especially spam and privacy)
• energy (especially pricing and substantiation of claims)
• financial services (credit, debt collection, credit transactions, and lending)
• health care (especially substantiation of claims, pricing of consumer products, physician groups and services, patents, and hospital mergers)
• retail and consumer products