Anwar_Zaki

Zaki Anwar

Anwar_Zaki

Zaki Anwar

Counsel

Boston + 1 617 526 6284

Zaki Anwar represents clients in state and federal court at all stages of litigation, focusing on appellate advocacy, dispositive motions, and trial strategy. His practice involves complex commercial litigation, government-facing litigation, and intellectual property litigation. He maintains an active pro bono practice, with an emphasis on gun control, immigration, and voting rights.

Mr. Anwar previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he taught a class on the nature and significance of state constitutional law.  He also served as the assistant voting rights counsel for the Ohio Democratic Party, where he strategized litigation to increase access to absentee ballot and early voting options for the 2020 general election.

Mr. Anwar completed clerkships with the Honorable John G. Roberts Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  He graduated from Harvard Law School in 2017, where he received the Fay Diploma, awarded annually to the graduate with the highest grade point average.

Mr. Anwar serves as a mentor for The Appellate Project, which seeks to create a racially diverse, equitable, and inclusive appellate community.

Experience

  • U.S. and State Supreme Court Litigation

    • Second-chaired oral argument and drafted merits briefs for Richard Glossip in Glossip v. Oklahoma, seeking vacatur of Glossip’s capital conviction in light of the State of Oklahoma’s suppression of key impeachment evidence 
    • Prepared amicus brief on behalf of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence defending the University of Michigan’s campus firearm restrictions from Second Amendment challenge in the Michigan Supreme Court

  • Appellate Court Litigation

    • Argued before the Seventh Circuit on behalf of client challenging denial of habeas petition seeking vacatur of felon-in-possession conviction 
    • Drafted Ninth Circuit appellee brief defending Twitter’s suspension of Donald Trump’s account for incitement of violence, relying upon a lack of state action and First Amendment editorial discretion
    • Represented a group of university professors challenging a state law mandating that public universities allow firearm carry on campus under the Georgia Constitution 
    • Composed appellate brief in the Federal Circuit for software company seeking $85 million in copyright damages from the U.S. Navy for unauthorized use of its 3D rendering program 
    • Drafted Third Circuit appellee brief for multinational energy company seeking to attach assets to satisfy $8.5 billion ICSID arbitral award against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 
    • Represented global educational testing and assessment organization before the Second Circuit in Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation involving the alleged use of unsolicited fax advertisements 

  • Trial Court Litigation

    • Formulated legal defense of Pennsylvania mail-in ballot notice-and-cure procedure on behalf of the Democratic National Committee in response to expedited state court challenge 
    • Drafted motion to dismiss on behalf of Google in response to the State of Ohio’s attempt to regulate Google as a common carrier and a public utility 
    • Developed trial strategy and drafted dispositive motions for national clinical laboratory network accused of violating the False Claims Act by providing blood draws to healthcare providers who had accepted cash kickbacks from other labs
    • Composed post-trial motions for Intel in long-running patent dispute with VLSI involving semiconductor technology 
    • Developed trial strategy and drafted dispositive motions for global pharmacy retailer facing multibillion-dollar opioid-related lawsuits brought by state and local governments in multidistrict litigation 
    • Composed motions to dismiss for False Claims Act actions brought against national home health services provider accused of improperly recruiting patients, providing medically unnecessary treatment, and other Medicare fraud
    • Drafted dispositive motions for chemical manufacturer in public nuisance cases brought by consumers and local governments alleging harmful PFAS exposure
    • Defending truck engine manufacturer in nationwide consumer fraud class action and State Attorney General litigation alleging that the company altered engine controls to bypass federal emissions tests
    • Represented electric utility in RICO and Ohio Corrupt Practices Act litigation related to allegations of bribery of state legislators and nuclear energy subsidies 
    • Drafted dispositive motions for global financial company in Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) class action related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein 

Recognition

  • Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for appellate practice (2025).

Insights & News

View all of Zaki 's insights & news

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Harvard Law School, 2017

      summa cum laude

      Fay Diploma recipient

      Harvard Law Review

    • BA, Economics and Political Science, Columbia University, 2011

      magna cum laude

  • Admissions

    • Massachusetts

    • New York

    • Ohio

    • US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    • US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

    • US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

    • US Supreme Court

  • Clerkships

    • The Hon. John G. Roberts, Jr., US Supreme Court, 2019 - 2020

    • The Hon. Sri Srinivasan, US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, 2018 - 2019

    • The Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton, US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2016 - 2017

Credentials

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