Zahra S. Karinshak, Esq.

Zahra focuses her practice on white collar criminal matters, corporate internal investigations, qui tam/false claims act/whistleblower suits, and complex civil litigation. For the past 8 years, Zahra served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. As a federal prosecutor, Zahra gained extensive experience in conducting grand jury investigations, trials and prosecuting cases involving fraud, public corruption, money laundering, violent crimes, child exploitation, and immigration. Zahra also has briefed and argued cases before the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to serving as a federal prosecutor, Zahra served as the Deputy Executive Counsel to Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, was an associate at Sutherland, and clerked for The Honorable J.L. Edmondson, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Zahra is a graduate of Emory University School of Law, Order of the Coif, with distinction, where she was a Sidney Parks Scholar, and Editor-in-Chief of the Emory Law Journal. Zahra received her B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy. She was a Captain in the Air Force serving as an intelligence officer and was the top graduate from intelligence school, with the highest academic average in the course’s history. Zahra received the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and other awards.

Education

• Emory University School of Law, 1997, J.D., with distinction Top 5% of class Sidney Parks Scholar Order of the Coif Georgia Assoc. of Women Lawyers Merit Scholarship Emory Law Journal, Editor-in-Chief Student Bar Association, Secretary

• United States Air Force Academy, Colorado, Bachelor of Science, Minor in Arabic, 1989 Top Graduate in Law Distinguished Graduate in Political Science Superintendent’s List Soaring Instructor Pilot Wing and Group Command Staffs Intercollegiate Cross Country Team

Bar Admissions

• Georgia

Past Employment

• Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia
• Deputy Executive Counsel to Georgia Governor Roy Barnes
• Sutherland
• Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Law Clerk to the Honorable J.L. Edmondson

Practice Areas

• Appeals
• Business Torts
• Commercial Litigation
• Complex Civil Litigation
• Corporate Governance/Director and Officer Liability/Shareholder Disputes
• Corporate Internal Investigations
• Employment Law
• Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets
• QuiTam/False Claims Act/Whistleblower
• Securities Litigation
• White Collar Crime

Practicing: White Collar Crime, Whistleblower, Qui Tam, Corporate Internal Investigations, Complex Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law and Appeals