Abizer Zanzi

Abizer represents both private and public sector employers in all aspects of labor and employment law including litigation and preventative counseling.  He has defended employers in federal and state courts and before federal agencies in matters involving employment discrimination, retaliatory discharge and trade secrets claims.  He counsels employers on personnel matters including reductions-in-force, drafting employment contracts, personnel policies and handbooks, and assisting with other matters arising under federal and state employment laws.

Abizer began his legal career as an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP in Chicago, where he focused his practice on employment litigation and counseling.  He also has experience defending companies in class action, intellectual property, securities and complex commercial disputes.  Before joining the Firm, Abizer served as a law clerk for the Honorable Philip P. Simon in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.  During law school, Abizer was the editor-in-chief of the Alaska Law Review and was on the Duke Moot Court Board.

Since 2007, Abizer has served as co-chair of the Labor & Employment Committee of the Young Lawyer’s Section of the Chicago Bar Association.  In this role, he has moderated and given presentations on emerging issues in labor and employment law. Abizer is a member of the American Bar Association, the Indian American Bar Association and the Duke Law Alumni Association.

Abizer is committed to public service.  He has represented pro bono clients in wrongful conviction, fair housing and asylum cases.  In 2001, Abizer spent a summer volunteering for a human rights organization in Delhi, India.  Abizer serves on the Chicago Partnership Board for Avenues to Independence, a non-profit, charitable organization providing residential, vocational and daily living support to adults with physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities.  He also volunteers in the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago’s “Lawyers in the Classroom” program with Dvorak Academy, the firm’s Chicago Public Schools’ partner school.

In addition to practicing law, Abizer enjoys playing tennis and traveling.  Prior to graduating from law school, he spent time studying abroad in Shanghai, China and working as a summer associate for a U.S. law firm in Tokyo, Japan.

News

• What Employers Need to Know About the New ADA Regulations

Publications

• Barring Employees From Answering Questions About Religion May Violate Title VII
• Short-Term Pregnancy Complications Found Not to Be a Disability
• Obama Administration Increases Scrutiny of Employers’ I-9 Records
• View All »

Events

• 2012 Employment Law Conference
• E-Discovery and Ethics in Employment Litigation
• Employee Mobility
• Labor & Employment Law Update 2010
• Basic Skills Course: Employment Law for the New Lawyer
• View All »