Zachary Arbitman

Zac Arbitman has helped recover over $275 million in whistleblower, class action, and catastrophic personal injury cases. He has been handling high-stakes matters for more than a decade and leverages his experience, in combination with an ability to innovate, to best represent his clients. With this approach, Zac has achieved many significant results in trials, appeals, and alternative dispute resolution forums in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and other courts throughout the United States.

Zac joined Feldman Shepherd in 2021, after establishing a well-earned reputation as a skilled and zealous advocate. He has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers every year since 2014 and a Lawyer on the Fast Track by the Legal Intelligencer in 2022. In addition, the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania also recognized Zac in 2013 and 2015 on its annual Pro Bono Roll of Honor.

At the firm, Zac leads the whistleblower representation practice and brings claims on behalf of whistleblowers under state and federal False Claims Acts, various state whistleblower statutes, and the SEC, CFTC, IRS, FinCEN, and NHTSA whistleblower programs. Over his career, he has helped whistleblower clients achieve many significant recoveries, including more than $60 million in cases where the government has declined to intervene.

Zac’s class action experience is equally diverse and centers on important consumer protection cases. Prior to joining Feldman Shepherd, Mr. Arbitman prosecuted numerous class actions that have resulted in significant recoveries, including: In re: Liquid Aluminum Sulfate Antitrust Litigation, No. 16-md-02687 (D.N.J.) (over $90 million in settlements in antitrust class action alleging defendants unlawfully allocated customers and markets and fixed the price of liquid aluminum sulfate); In re: The Bank Of New York Mellon ADR FX Litigation, 1:16-cv-00212 (S.D.N.Y.) ($72.5 million settlement in class action alleging BNY Mellon overcharged American depositary receipt holders for the conversion of foreign currency dividends to U.S. dollars); In Re Zinc Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 14 Civ.3728 (PAE) (S.D.N.Y) ($9.85 million recovery in an antitrust class action alleging monopolization and attempted monopolization conduct resulting in inflated market pricing for Special High Grade Zinc).

Zac also handles a wide array of catastrophic personal injury cases involving medical malpractice, defective products, motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, unsafe premises, and civil rights violations. In the last five years, while at both Feldman Shepherd and his prior firm, he has helped make almost $35 million in recoveries—many of which are confidential—for his personal injury clients.

Outside the office, Zac remains active in his community. He is an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Public Interest Law Center and is Chair of its Nominations Committee. He is also involved in the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, a nonprofit public interest organization dedicated to combating fraud against the Government, and is a member of its Conference and Member Education Committee. Previously, Zac served on the Executive Committee of Justice Rising Advocates for Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

Zac earned his B.A. magna cum laude from Haverford College, where he was inducted into The Phi Beta Kappa Society. He earned his J.D. from George Washington University Law School, where he was selected to serve as a Research Assistant for Professor Christopher A. Bracey for a book on race, racism, and the law.  Zac remains active in the alumni networks of GW Law, Haverford College, and the Episcopal Academy, where he attended high school.

Born and raised in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs, Zac lives in the area with his wife and two daughters. In his free time, he enjoys relaxing with his family, playing basketball and golf, and reading.

Education

George Washington University Law School, J.D., 2012

Haverford College, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 2009

Admissions

Pennsylvania, 2012

New Jersey, 2012

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2013

U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, 2015

U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 2013

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2013

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2015

U.S District Court, Western District of Michigan, 2022

Affiliations

Law360
Editorial Board Member, Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice, 2021 – Present

Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund (TAFEF)
COVID-19 Task Force Member, Financial Fraud Subcommittee, 2020 – Present

Episcopal Academy Lawyers Network
Co-Founder, 2017 – Present

Public Interest Law Center
Host Committee Member, Annual Celebration; Board Member, 2018/2020 – Present

Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
Executive Committee Member, Justice Rising Advocates, 2018 – 2020

Logan Square Neighborhood Association
Board Member, 2015 – 2018

GW Law Alumni Association
Board Member, 2014 – 2017

Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia
Executive Committee Member, Young Friends of CSFP, 2013 – 2016

Awards

Super Lawyers Rising Star
Thomson Reuters, 2014 – Present

Lawyer on the Fast Track
The Legal Intelligencer, 2022

Pro Bono Roll of Honor for the First Judicial District of Philadelphia
2013, 2015

Publications

Does My Client Have a Whistleblower Rewards Claim?, Legal Intelligencer, March 2, 2022

Pa. High Court Did Not Close Door to Obtaining Credentialing Info in ‘Leadbitter,’ Legal Intelligencer, October 21, 2021

Blowing the Whistle (Part 4): A Primer on the IRS Whistleblower Program, Legal Intelligencer, February 3, 2021

Agencies’ Joint Antitrust Focus May Spur Whistleblower Tips, Law360, December 9, 2020

Outside Whistleblowers Are Critical To Exposing Fraud, Law360, October 14, 2020

CFPB Whistleblower Program Could Plug Enforcement Gaps, Law360, April 2, 2020

Potential Civil Claims That May Arise From ‘Chaos at Chain Pharmacies,’ Legal Intelligencer, March 17, 2020

Blowing the Whistle (Part 3): A Primer on the CFTC’s Whistleblower Program, Legal Intelligencer, January 8, 2020

Blowing the Whistle (Part 2): A Primer on the SEC’s Whistleblower Program, The Temple 10-Q, September 27, 2019, Read Publication

Taking Care to Preserve Claims Against Joint Tortfeasors in Med Mal Cases, Legal Intelligencer, September 16, 2019

Blowing the Whistle (Part 2): A Primer on the SEC’s Whistleblower Program, Legal Intelligencer, July 30, 2019

Blowing the Whistle: A Primer on the False Claims Act, The Temple 10-Q, June 28, 2019, Read Publication

Blowing the Whistle: A Primer on the False Claims Act (Part 1), Legal Intelligencer, May 1, 2019

How Does a Compliance Officer Blow the Whistle – And What Happens Then?, Corporate Compliance Insights, April 10, 2019, Read Publication

Can Compliance Officers Be Whistleblowers?, Corporate Compliance Insights, March 14, 2019, Read Publication

Criminal Forfeitures Are ‘Alternate Remedies’ Under The FCA, Law360, February 28, 2019

Whistleblowers May Spur More Gov’t Contract Antitrust Cases, Law360, Dec. 12, 2018

Using Statistical Sampling, Extrapolation to Prove Liability in FCA Cases, Legal Intelligencer, August 28, 2018

Speaking Engagements

Panels

SEC Whistleblower Program Nuts & Bolts, Moderator, 2021 Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Annual Conference, October 13, 2021

Whistleblowing Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, Moderator, Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Section Zoom Roundtable, September 27, 2021

The FCA and Antitrust Enforcement, Federal Bar Association Qui Tam Section Zoom Roundtable, April 28, 2021

COVID-19 Financial Relief Funds – Addressing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse, Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Webinar, February 9, 2021

Emerging Practice Areas, 2019 Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund Annual Conference, October 2, 2019

Mentoring the Young Professional: Evidentiary Issues in Employment Litigation, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, October 27, 2018

Presentations

Blowing the Whistle: A Primer on the False Claims Act and SEC, CFTC, and IRS Whistleblower Programs, Celesq® AttorneysEd Center, October 27, 2021

Anti-Corruption and Compliance, The George Washington University Law School, September 2020