Overview
Zack Zaharoff is a Partner at CPM and a Bay Area native. Zack represents individuals, small businesses, and public entities in fighting to protect their rights. He is an experienced trial lawyer who cut his teeth handling commercial disputes for six years at Latham & Watkins in San Francisco and New York. Zack now handles a wide variety of cases for individuals and small businesses including personal injury, elder abuse, business fraud, public corruption, and other complex litigation.
Zack has a proven record of success in litigation and trial for both plaintiffs and defendants. He has obtained tens of millions of dollars in compensation for injured plaintiffs and helped small and midsized businesses fight frivolous lawsuits and protect their interests. Notable cases include:
- Obtaining the largest wrongful death verdict in San Mateo County history ($32.8 million) on behalf of twin girls whose parents were killed by a teenager street racing in Redwood City;
- Obtaining $20 million settlement for the San Mateo County Community College District in a fraud and corruption lawsuit against multiple construction vendors;
- Obtaining multiple seven-figure settlements against nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities for elder/dependent adult abuse and wrongful death;
- Representing family in a name, image, and likeness dispute against one of the largest technology companies in the world (eight-figure settlement reached);
- Obtaining complete defense judgments (summary judgment and judgment on the pleadings) in multiple separate lawsuits against a group of California dairy farmers in long-running dispute over California dairy regulations;
While at Latham & Watkins, Zack practiced copyright, antitrust, and complex commercial litigation. He led case teams across the country and was part of multiple trial teams, including a team that achieved a complete defense verdict on behalf of a music-industry trade group after a $100 million breach of contract arbitration. He also had an active pro bono practice that included obtaining multiple favorable settlements in federal civil rights suits on behalf of New York City tenants.
Zack is also a frequent speaker and author on issues relevant to his practice, including the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Plaintiff bar. Zack was recently featured as a panelist at a Consumer Attorneys of California conference regarding AI, and he has published multiple articles about cutting-edge legal issues, including AI-related lawsuits.
Before passing the bar, Zack served as a law clerk to the Honorable Philip R. Martinez, a former US District Court Judge for the Western District of Texas. Zack attended UC Berkeley for law school, where he served as a senior editor on the California Law Review and graduated at the top of his class as a member of the Order of the Coif. Zack also served as a judicial extern in the San Francisco chambers of the Honorable Michelle T. Friedland, a US Circuit Court Judge on the Ninth Circuit. He also holds a BA from the University of Washington, where he was a starting forward for the rugby team and worked as a bouncer at a local music venue.
Zack spends most of his free time playing with his young kids and relaxing with his wife, a pediatrics and psychiatry resident at Stanford. He also enjoys golf, running, Bay Area sports, politics, and exploring new restaurants.
Experience
Representative Matters
Honors & Awards
Honors & Recognitions
2026 Northern California Rising Stars
Publications
Publications
News
In the News
Practices
Education
UC Berkeley School of Law, Berkeley, CA, J.D.
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, B.A. (Philosophy and Political Science)
Admissions
- California
- New York
- Northern District of California
- Central District of California
- Southern District of New York
Clerkships
- Hon. Philip R. Martinez, Western District of Texas;
- Judicial Extern for Hon. Michelle T. Friedland, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
