Litigation Counsel
Michael Zuckerman joined OJPC in October 2019 as a Skadden Fellow and Attorney and now works as Litigation Counsel, serving in OJPC’s Columbus office. During his Skadden Fellowship, he served primarily as a member of OJPC’s Second Chance Project, providing legal assistance to people with criminal records seeking to overcome barriers to employment, housing, and other components of a flourishing life. He has also represented incarcerated clients in trial and appellate litigation, including in a habeas class action arising out of a major COVID-19 outbreak at the federal prison at Elkton and in litigation surrounding the Ohio prison system’s garnishment of CARES Act relief checks for incarcerated people in Ohio. In addition to his work with OJPC, Michael is a Visiting Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, where he teaches courses on First Amendment law and post-sentencing litigation and is affiliated with the school’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.
Michael graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he served as a student attorney with the Criminal Justice Institute and as president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he clerked for Judge Karen Nelson Moore of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court.