Zack works with private businesses and public agencies to negotiate and draft complex real estate and financial structures. Working frequently with state and local regulatory and permitting agencies, he represents clients before a variety of administrative bodies to enable clients to complete some of the region’s most intriguing projects, including: development of a mixed-use project in San Francisco’s Fillmore District featuring Yoshi’s Jazz Club and Restaurant and 80 condominiums; entitling a 14-story, 220-unit residential building in Jack London Square; and the creative vertical subdivision of the Oakland YWCA, rescuing the Y from bankruptcy and saving a Julia Morgan building. He represented the Oakland A’s in negotiations with the County of Alameda acquisition of the Coliseum for a large mixed use development project.

Zack has served as lead general counsel for the Alameda County Transportation Commission and its predecessors for over 30 years, assisting it with a wide variety of matters including funding, legislation, compliance with public laws, environmental and personnel issues, and ballot measures.

In 2012, Zack was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as Chair of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). As General Counsel to the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, Zack played an integral role negotiating with BCDC on the Bay Plan Amendment to address rising sea levels. In addition, Zack serves as a member of the Bay Area Regional Collaborative, which coordinates regional policies of MTC, ABAG, BAAQMD and BCDC.

He serves as the current Chair of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. For many years he has served as general counsel to the Chamber, as well as to the East Bay Economic Development Alliance and to several non-profit corporations and foundations engaged in technology transfer and scientific development.

An active member of the East Bay community, Zack has donated hundreds of hours of his time to committees and programs designed to enhance the economic development of Oakland and surrounding communities.

OTHER EXPERIENCE

• Cannabis
• Nonprofits and Trade Organizations
• Public Agency
• Transportation Agencies

• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated (the highest rating available), by Martindale-Hubbell
• Northern California Southwest Super Lawyers®, 2004-2019
• Oakland Jobs and Housing Coalition Legacy Award, 2019
• Frank C. Boerger Award, Bay Planning Coalition (BPC), May 16, 2014
• East Bay Vision Award, East Bay Economic Development Alliance, January 2003
• Volunteer of the Year Award, Oakland Chamber of Commerce, 1998

• Interview, “Oakland Chamber of Commerce wants City Hall reopened and more police and security patrols downtown,” KCBS, KPIX-SF, KTVU-SF, KGO, October 12, 2022
• Featured, “Oakland Chamber of Commerce wants City Hall reopened and more police and security patrols downtown,” The Oaklandside, October 12, 2022
• Participant, Land Use Law Update Roundtable, California Lawyer, June 2013
• Panel Member, Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Workshop on Bay Plan Amendment Addressing Climate Change and Rising Sea Levels, May 19, 2011
• Author, “Landowner, Developer Must Forge Partnership That is a Marriage,” East Bay Business Times, June 13, 2008
• Speaker, “Forming and Managing Commercial TICs,” Urban Land Institute, May 20, 2008
• Author, “Clients Receive Top Honors,” The Wendel Report, Fall 2006
• Participant, Land Use Law Update Roundtable, California Lawyer, May 2005 and July 2003

• Chair, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
• Chair, Board of Directors, Oakland Chamber of Commerce
• General Counsel, Oakland Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Board of Directors, Oakland Chamber of Commerce
• Chair, Leadership Oakland, Oakland Chamber of Commerce
• General Counsel, Executive Committee, East Bay Economic Development Alliance
• Chair, Oakland Charter Review Committee
• Member, Bay Area Transportation Lawyers
• Member, Executive Committee, Oakland Workforce Investment Board
• Chairman, Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence
• Member, General Counsel, Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence
• Member, Board of Commissioners, Port of Oakland
• Member, Alameda County Bar Association
• Managing Editor, California State Bar Real Property Journal, State Bar of California

• California
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California