Zach is a member of the firm’s Litigation, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity, and Technology & Digital Business practice groups. He holds the Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US) and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). He is also Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)². Zach helps clients navigate data privacy, intellectual property, non-competition, trade secret, trade practices, and other complex commercial and business disputes, including appeals.
Prior to joining Godfrey & Kahn, Zach spent more than four years clerking for Judge J.P. Stadtmueller of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. While at Marquette University Law School, he served as a research assistant to a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and to Dean Joseph Kearney. He also interned with Judge Lynn Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Outside of work, Zach enjoys distance long-distance running, reading fiction and listening to and writing music. He is a former member and songwriter of several touring bands.
Representative Experience
Prevailing on a motion to dismiss fraud and breach-of-contract claims brought by a purchaser following its acquisition of a large regional business, then obtaining an affirmance of that dismissal on appeal
In a contentious, complex business dispute with components in several different courts:
- Defeating a motion for an anti-suit injunction filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery
- Obtaining reinstatement of a breach of contract claim following discovery
- Defeating a motion for summary judgment
Represented U.S. dairy organizations and companies, and prevailed in a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board trial and subsequent district-court appeal, opposing the attempted registration by Swiss and French organizations of GRUYERE as a certification mark in U.S.
Obtaining multiple temporary restraining orders against departing employees on the basis of enforcing non-competition agreements and prohibiting trade-secret theft
Successfully defending departing employees against a request for a temporary restraining order and obtaining dismissal of multiple trade-secret-related claims alleged against them
Prevailing in a pro bono appeal before the Seventh Circuit on behalf of an Illinois state prisoner alleging civil rights violations
Achieving transfer of a case alleging false advertising and unfair trade practices, on the basis of a lack of personal jurisdiction, to a more favorable venue
Compelling arbitration in a complex corporate governance dispute between majority and minority shareholders
Settling multiple trade-practice and consumer-protection claims, including putative class actions
Ensuring the return of master tapes of a filmmaker’s documentary, which had been purchased and temporarily lost by a large media distributor
Admitted To Practice
Wisconsin - 2011
Court Admissions
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
United States District Court, Central District of Illinois
United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
United States District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
United States Supreme Court
Professional Associations
Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association
International Association of Privacy Professionals
Seventh Circuit Bar Association
Thomas E. Fairchild American Inn of Court
Activities
Bel Canto Chorus, Board Member
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block, Board Member
Godfrey & Kahn's Ethics Committee, Member
Godfrey & Kahn’s Summer Associate Committee, Member
Marquette Law School’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition Moot Court teams, Coach
Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association’s Charles N. Clevert Mentorship Program, Past Mentor
Honors
CIPP/US certification from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
Named a 2019 "Up and Coming Lawyer" by Wisconsin Law Journal
Recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (Appellate Practice, 2021 - present)
Education
Juris Doctor, Marquette University Law School, 2011, magna cum laude
Bachelor of Arts in English, Bellarmine University, 2008, cum laude