Ted Zeller Receives Distinguished Leaders Honor from ALM’s 2025 Pennsylvania Legal Awards

Allentown, PA (April 17, 2025) – The law firm of Norris McLaughlin, P.A. is pleased to announce that Theodore J. Zeller, III, member and Chair of the firm’s Liquor Law Practice Group has received the Distinguished Leaders honor from ALM’s The Legal Intelligencer 2025 Pennsylvania Legal Awards.

This award recognizes lawyers and legal professionals who achieved impressive results in the past year and demonstrated clear leadership skills that helped them achieve those results. That could be a litigation team leader winning a notable case against unfavorable odds, a managing partner who helped the firm achieve notable growth during the past year, a judge who oversaw a large mass tort program, a public interest attorney who helped pass legislation or in-house counsel who revamped the legal department or a C-suite professional who had a major positive impact on their firm’s business.

“While learning a lot about a specific area will generate good business, you can become myopic,” says Zeller in response to the nomination questions. “Actually learning a little about a lot and maintaining intellectual curiosity will prepare you to be a better lawyer.”

About Ted Zeller

Zeller has extensive experience in liquor law, regulatory licensing, commercial transactions, real estate transactions, and litigation. Zeller’s lobbying efforts helped change various laws under the Pennsylvania Liquor Code. In 2010, Zeller testified before the Senate Law and Justice Committee on behalf of Yuengling Brewery concerning House Bill 291, which addresses the distribution of brewed beverages in Pennsylvania.

In 2011, Zeller authored portions of two different bills that were enacted into law. The bills helped small brewers by allowing more efficient and cost-effective brand registration, as well as altered the package laws for brewery licenses. He also appeared before the House Liquor Committee with the Brewers of Pennsylvania in the Privatization Hearings. Most recently, his efforts helped change brewery regulations to allow for taprooms and he authored the Malt Beverage Tax Excise Credit legislation. Further, he has written extensively about Acts 39 and 166.

Zeller counsels clients on the acquisition of liquor licenses and coordinates liquor license transactions with other practice areas, such as real estate, business law, financing, tax law, intellectual property, and litigation. Known throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he also represents beer interests on a national level and advises breweries and wholesalers on state regulatory matters involving beer distribution and franchise laws. He regularly prepares distribution agreements for his clients and coordinates state and federal licensing for manufacturing and national distribution.

Zeller has tried multiple cases in county and federal court, including jury trials, and hundreds of cases before arbitration panels, district justices, and administrative law judges. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Cider Guild and is General Counsel to the Brewers of Pennsylvania and represents alcohol interests in every category. Zeller has helped numerous start-up breweries, wineries, distilleries, and retailers.

About the Pennsylvania Legal Awards

The Pennsylvania Legal Awards honors outstanding achievements and unparalleled excellence within the Pennsylvania and Delaware legal communities. The Pennsylvania Legal Awards honor those exceptional lawyers and firms whose dedication, leadership, and vision have profoundly shaped the legal landscape.

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Norris McLaughlin, P.A., is a multi-practice, commercial law firm with offices in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, delivering legal solutions to clients wherever they conduct their business, including nationally and internationally. The firm’s nearly 130 attorneys practice in more than 25 legal disciplines and industry-focused groups and serve a wide range of clients, including small businesses, middle-market companies, and Fortune 500 corporations, as well as the private individuals and families who may own, lead, and/or manage those companies. Norris McLaughlin is a member of Meritas®, a global alliance of leading independent law firms. To learn more, visit www.norrismclaughlin.com.