Mark S. Zaid, Esq.
Managing Partner
Mark S. Zaid specializes in litigation and lobbying on matters relating to international transactions, torts and crimes, national security, foreign sovereign and diplomatic immunity, defamation (plaintiff) and the Freedom of Information/Privacy Acts (FOI/PA).
Through his practice Mr. Zaid often represents former/current federal employees, intelligence and military officers, Whistleblowers and others who have grievances or have been wronged by agencies of the United States Government or foreign governments, as well as members of the media. Mr. Zaid teaches D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education classes on “Defending Security Clearances” and “The Basics of Filing and Litigating Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Requests”. He has been named as a Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer every year since he was profiled in 2009, as well as a “Best Lawyer” by Washingtonian Magazine in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 (issued bi-annually), for his national security work. As the National Law Journal once wrote, “if Agent Mulder ever needed a lawyer, Zaid would be his man.”
Mr. Zaid is also the Executive Director and founder of the James Madison Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization with the primary purpose of educating the public on issues relating to intelligence gathering and operations, secrecy policies, national security and government wrongdoing. Starting in January 2014, Mr. Zaid also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University teaching in the Global Studies/National Security Certificate programs.
In connection with his legal practice on international and national security matters, Mr. Zaid has testified before, or provided testimony to, a variety of governmental bodies including the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, the House Government Operations Committee, the Department of Energy, the Public Interest Declassification Board and the Assassination Records Review Board. “Curiously for this town,” wrote the American Bar Association Journal, “Zaid is an equal opportunity thorn out to pierce the sides of suit jackets bearing both elephants and donkeys on the lapels.”
A 1992 graduate of Albany Law School of Union University in New York, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Albany Law Review, he completed his undergraduate education (cum laude) in 1989 at the University of Rochester, New York with honors in Political Science and high honors in History. Mr. Zaid is a member of the Bars of New York State, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Maryland and several federal courts. He currently possesses TS/SCI eligibility and has had Q level access.
He can be reached at Mark@MarkZaid.com.
To read Mark’s Wikipedia entry, click here.
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Publications
Book Reviews
- The Suprising Publication of a CIA Insider’s Harsh Critique of U.S. Terror Tactics (10/15/2004)
- When It Comes To Spy Versus Spy, Is Fact Stranger Than Fiction? (07/09/2004)
- Two Unsolved Murders And A “Trial Of The Century” (01/16/2004)
- The New, Unabashed McCarthyism (08/08/2003)
- On The Judicial Front Lines In Post-World War II Germany (04/04/2003)
- Was September 11, 2001 Actually A Prelude To 1984? (01/24/2003)
- How The FBI Created A Culture Of Lawlessness (08/09/2002)
- A Tale of Espionage or a Government Witch Hunt? (02/22/2002)
- How a Sea Change in Civil Liability Threatens to Drown the First Amendment (12/21/2001)
Books
- Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws (08/29/2008)
- Whistle-blowing and the Intelligence Community (07/01/2007)
- Challenging The Pentagon’s Mandatory Anthrax Vaccination Immunization Program (12/20/2006)
- THE GIs RABBI: THE WORLD WAR TWO LETTERS OF DAVID MAX EICHHORN (06/20/2004)
- Court Rebuffs Government Bid To Classify Nuclear Weapons Book (09/20/2003)
- Policy Must Be Reasonable – CIA Case for Invisible Ink (10/20/2000)
- The U.S. War Crimes Act of 1996 (10/20/1998)
Congressional Testimony
- Executive Branch Procedures For Safeguarding Classified Information (03/16/2007)
- Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007 & the State Secrets Privilege (02/13/2007)
- Able Danger and Intelligence Information Sharing (09/21/2005)
- Issues Surrounding the Use of Polygraphs (04/25/2001)
- The Performance of the Anthrax Inoculation Program (03/24/1999)
Law Review Articles
- Will or Should the United States Ever Prosecute War Criminals? (12/01/2001)
- Taiwan: It Looks Like It, It Acts Like It, But Is It a State? (04/01/1998)
- Diplomatic Immunity: To Have Or Not To Have, That Is The Question (03/01/1998)
- Trial Of The Century? Assessing The Case Of Dusko Tadic (12/01/1997)
- Combatting International Terrorism into the 21st Century (07/01/1996)
- The Declassification of Dealey Plaza (06/01/1993)
Magazine Articles
- A Waning Power: Use Of Powers Of Attorney For Depositing Client Settlement Checks (06/01/2009)
- Representing Victims of Terrorism: Perspectives from the Forefront (06/01/2002)
- Fighting International Terrorism Through Compensatory and Punitive Damages (08/06/1995)
Opinion Editorials
- When Classified Information Is Leaked, Journalists Should Not Be Punished (02/24/2005)
- Muzzling the Messenger: The CIA and Pre-Publication Rights (08/10/2004)
- Too Many Secrets (03/27/2003)
- Failure of the Polygraph (04/16/2002)
Cases
- Barbara Feinman v. Central Intelligence Agency et al.
- Eric D. Feldman v. Central Intelligence Agency
- Franz Boening v. Central Intelligence Agency
- John Doe v. Federal Bureau of Investigation et al.
- John Dullahan v. Defense Intelligence Agency et al.
- Peter B. v. Central Intelligence Agency et al.
- Sabrina DeSousa v. Department of State et al.
- United States v. SSgt Frank Wuterich
- APBnews.com v. Judicial Conference et al.
- Arianna Huffington v. Department of the Army et al.
- Bruce Smith v. The Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya et al.
- Congressman Lane Evans v. Office of Personnel Management
- Eddington et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency et al.
- Estate of Joviane Waltrick v. Republic of Georgia et al.
- Frank D. Wuterich v. Congressman John Murtha
- George Hickey v. St. Martin’s Press et al.
- Jane Doe et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency et al.
- Jeffrey Sterling v. George Tenet et al.
- John Doe #1 et al. v. Donald Rumsfeld et al.
- John F. Sullivan v. Central Intelligence Agency et al.
- Kline et al. v. Green Mount Cemetary et al.
- Lewis German v. Bethesda Fire Department et al.
- Mohamed Al Fayed et al. v. Central Intelligence Agency et al.
- Security Clearance Decisions Before Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals
- Sibel Edmonds v. Department of Justice et al.
- Steven Perlman v. Department of Justice et al
- Stillman v. Department of Defense et al.
- Tom Rempfer et al. v. Sharfstein et al.
Mark S. Zaid, P.C. 