Zain Shirazi

Attorney, Zain Shirazi Law PLLC

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

About

Zain Shirazi is the founder of Zain Shirazi Law PLLC, a Minnesota-based public interest law firm dedicated to advancing justice for employees and marginalized communities. A graduate of the UCLA School of Law, Zain has built a career that spans major law firms, a federal clerkship, public defense, and senior government service. He began at Jenner & Block LLP, clerked for the Honorable Virginia A. Phillips in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and spent six years as an Assistant Public Defender in Maryland, where he tried 15 jury trials and over 100 bench trials—including cases carrying potential life sentences. From 2021 to 2025, Zain served as Senior Counsel to the Vice Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, advising on national employment policy including workplace discrimination, DEIA, and the emerging impact of AI on civil rights. Today, his practice focuses on civil rights, criminal defense, and employment law, representing clients facing discrimination, retaliation, wage theft, police misconduct, and other governmental abuse. Licensed in Minnesota, California, and Maryland, Zain is guided by a client-first philosophy: explaining the law in plain language, laying out every option, and empowering clients to drive their own cases.

Experience

  • Attorney at Zain Shirazi Law PLLC
    Apr 2026 - Present · 3 mos

  • Of Counsel at Zimmerman Reed
    May 2025 - Apr 2026 · 1 yr

  • Senior Counsel, Office of Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels at U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
    Nov 2021 - Jan 2025 · 3 yrs 3 mos

  • Office of the Public Defender Maryland (Maryland, United States)
    • Assistant Public Defender III
      Oct 2018 - Oct 2021 · 3 yrs 1 mo

    • Assistant Public Defender II
      Jul 2017 - Oct 2018 · 1 yr 4 mos

    • Assistant Public Defender I
      Aug 2015 - Jul 2017 · 2 yrs

  • Judicial Clerkship, Hon. Virginia A. Phillips at U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
    Sep 2014 - Aug 2015 · 1 yr