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 capital defense, voting rights, and gun violence prevention.

Mr. Anwar previously served as an associate in the Issues & Appeals group of Jones Day. He also previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he taught a course on the nature and significance of state constitutional law. 
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

  • US and State Supreme Court Litigation

    • Second-chaired oral argument and drafted the merits brief for Richard Glossip in Glossip v. Oklahoma, successfully obtaining vacatur of Glossip’s capital conviction in light of the State of Oklahoma’s elicitation of false testimony
    • Second-chaired oral argument and drafted merits brief for Joseph Smith in Hamm v. Smith, defending the Eleventh Circuit’s judgment that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of Smith due to his intellectual disability 
    • Representing multinational health insurance company before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, challenging Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act verdict based upon allegedly deceptive conduct in selling supplemental health insurance plans
    • Prepared amicus brief on behalf of the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence defending the University of Michigan’s campus firearm restrictions 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 
    • Defending dismissal of antitrust lawsuit challenging the Ivy League’s practice of not awarding athletic scholarships in the Second Circuit
    • 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
    • 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 
    • Represented a group of university professors challenging a state law mandating that public universities allow firearm carry on campus under the Georgia Constitution 
    • Served as court-appointed appellate counsel in the Sixth Circuit for Social Security claimant challenging the SSA’s revocation of her benefits following mass fraud committed by attorney Eric Conn

  • Trial Court Litigation

    • Drafting dispositive motions for copyright litigation challenging Anthropic’s alleged use of lyrics in training data for AI models 
    • Defending the University of Pennsylvania in putative antitrust class action challenging the university’s participation in the 568 Presidents Group, a former consortium of universities and colleges practicing need-blind admissions 
    • Drafting dispositive motions and interlocutory appeal briefs for truck engine manufacturer in nationwide consumer fraud class action and State Attorney General litigation alleging that the company altered engine emissions controls
    • Formulated legal defense of Pennsylvania mail-in ballot notice-and-cure procedure for Democratic National Committee 
    • 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 
    • Composed post-trial motions for Intel in long-running patent dispute with VLSI involving semiconductor technology 
    • Developed trial strategy and drafted dispositive motions for national clinical laboratory network accused of violating the False Claims Act by providing courtesy blood draws to healthcare providers 
    • 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 and providing medically unnecessary treatment
    • Drafted dispositive motions for chemical manufacturer in public nuisance cases brought by consumers and local governments alleging harmful PFAS exposure
    • Represented electric utility in RICO and Ohio Corrupt Practices Act litigation related to allegations of bribery of state legislators for nuclear energy subsidies 
    • Drafted dispositive motions for global financial services company in Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) class action 

Recognition

Insights & News

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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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