Zak Franklin

Zak is an employment litigator and trial lawyer who litigates cases to win them. Zak has been lead counsel for several cases that have resulted in seven figure verdicts or recoveries, including a record-setting $8 million for a client who faced sexual harassment, retaliation, and discrimination. His cases have received widespread media attention, including coverage by ABC, CBS News, NBC, the Los Angeles Times, the San Jose Mercury News, CNBC, the UK Daily Mail, the Hollywood Reporter, the Daily Journal, SF Gate, and the Palo Alto Daily Post.

Zak's expertise includes cases related to wrongful termination, assault, discrimination, harassment, retaliation; workplace accommodations, meal and rest break violations, and unpaid wages.

Zak’s advocacy for his clients has led to the Daily Journal recognizing Zak as a 2025 “Plaintiff Lawyer of the Year” and caused defense lawyers to refer to him as a “pit bull” and remark that he is “so slick he’ll lead you down a rabbit hole if you’re not careful”.

Before founding Franklin Law, Zak worked at McDermott Will & Emery and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, two of the world's biggest and most prestigious law firms, where he represented some of the country's largest corporations in high stakes litigations.

Zak graduated from the University of California-Berkeley School of Law and he received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he graduated summa cum laude. During law school, Zak was a member of the California Law Review and he worked for the Honorable Richard Seeborg, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California.

Zak is also a widely published author. His written works have appeared in several publications, including the California Law Review, the Berkeley Journal of Employment Law, Law360, the Daily Journal, and the Animal Law Review.

Zak makes pro bono work an important part of his practice, helping indigent individuals in immigration, wrongful death, sexual assault, and personal injury litigations.

Recent results:
Carryn Barker v. San Mateo County: $8,000,000 recovery for a woman SWAT operator and detective subjected to sexual harassment, discrimination, and sexual assault.
Confidential: Over $7,000,000 recovered for executive retaliated against by an investment bank.
Confidential: Over $3,000,000 recovered for employee discriminated and retaliated against by a large financial institution.
Edgar Figueroa v. Sullivan Properties, Inc (d/b/a Fairgrove Property Management): $2,335,000 jury verdict for maintenance worker subjected to disability discrimination and retaliation during two month employment. Verdict included $35,000 in lost wages, $1,000,000 in emotional distress, and $1,300,000 in punitive damages.
Jessica Cleese v. Calaveras Consolidated Fire Protection District: $1,900,000 recovered for a firefighter subjected to sexual assault, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation
Confidential: $1,200,000 recovered for an executive subjected to gender discrimination and retaliation.
Confidential: $1,100,000 recovered for an executive who suffered retaliation for reporting financial irregularities.
Confidential: $950,000 recovered for an employee retaliated against because she opposed race discrimination by her company’s founder and its CEO.
Confidential: $695,000 recovered for a woman subjected to sexual harassment at a wellness brand.
Anonymous v. Signal Hill Pet Hospital, et al: $700,000 recovered for a woman subjected to sexual assault and harassment by her female boss.