Meet Our Team
Żaki Anarwala, Partner/CEO
Zaki is the Founding Partner and CEO of ZMA Legal, where he combines legal insight with an entrepreneurial mindset to guide clients through complex business and real estate matters.
Representative Transactions and Engagements
- Sale of IT services company to a strategic acquirer, including negotiation of transition services and management retention arrangements.
- Sale of a manufacturing company to a private equity buyer, including rollover equity and employment agreements.
- Acquisition of an HVAC company, representing buyer through due diligence, purchase agreement negotiation, and post-closing transition services.
- Acquisition of a regional cleaning services company, including structuring, asset transfer, and employee retention issues.
- Acquisition of a multi-location retail business, acting as lead counsel in purchase agreement and financing negotiations.
- Acquisition of a service-based company with operations across multiple states, handling due diligence and closing.
- Acquisition of hotel portfolio valued at nearly $100 million across five states, including financing, title, and cross-jurisdictional closing coordination.
- Acquisition of New York City real estate for a nonprofit organization, including financing negotiations and regulatory compliance with a $17M deal value.
Admissions and Certifications
Illinois
Education
Northwestern University, B.S.
Loyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D.
Contact Information
Zaki Anarwala, Esq.
500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 350
Deerfield, Illinois 60015
+1-312-929-8334
zaki.anarwala@zmalegal.com
LinkedIn | Twitter
Sarah Iftekhar, Partner/COO
Sarah is a Partner at ZMA Legal. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and federal securities law matters. She also regularly advises non-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Before joining ZMA Legal, Sarah was an associate in Sidley Austin LLP’s corporate group and in Cooley LLP’s public companies group, where she counseled public and private companies and their boards of directors on a wide range of corporate and transactional matters. Prior to law school, Sarah co-founded a digital marketing company and spent six years working in digital and database marketing.
Representative Transactions and Engagements*
- Cabela’s Incorporated in its $5 billion sale to Bass Pro Group and the related $2 billion sale of its credit card portfolio
- Multi-Color Corporation in its $2 billion sale to an affiliate of Platinum Equity LLC
- Duke Energy in its acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas, valued at more than $1 billion
- Elaine Wynn in her proxy contest against Wynn Resorts Limited
- United Airlines in various corporate governance and securities matters
- Aon Corporation in connection with various acquisitions
- The Nordstrom family in the proposed take-private of Nordstrom
Admissions and Certifications
Illinois
Education
The University of Chicago, J.D.
Northwestern University, B.A.
Contact Information
500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 350
Deerfield, Illinois 60015
+1-312-929-8334
sarah.iftekhar@zmalegal.com
LinkedIn
*Prior to joining ZMA Legal
Hiba Hassan, Associate
Hiba is an Associate at ZMA Legal. She advises clients on corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general corporate matters. She also has experience in commercial litigation and regulatory compliance, particularly with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), where she has represented securities brokerage firms in regulatory hearings.
Admissions and Certifications
New York
Sindh Bar Council
Education
Harvard Law School, LL.M.
Lahore University of Management Sciences, B.A. LL.B.
Contact Information
500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 350
Deerfield, Illinois 60015
847-220-7563
hiba.hassan@zmalegal.com
LinkedIn
Zainab Anwar, Law Clerk
Zainab is a Law Clerk at ZMA Legal. Before joining ZMA Legal, Zainab practiced transactional law at one of Pakistan’s leading law firms, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and banking and finance. She has advised public and private companies on complex cross-border transactions and regularly counseled international clients on regulatory issues involving the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the National Bank of Pakistan.
Admissions and Certifications
New York (Pending)
Sindh Bar Council
Education
Georgetown University, LL.M.
Lahore University of Management Sciences, B.A. LL.B.
Contact Information
500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 350
Deerfield, Illinois 60015
847-241-3394
zainab.anwar@zmalegal.com
LinkedIn