Zach Portnoy
Zach has always been drawn to empowering the underdogs in their fight against powerful adversaries. As a law student, Zach served as an intern with the Public Defender’s Office for the 6th Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County, where he had the opportunity to litigate criminal cases—and take a case to trial—while still a law student. Zach won the trial (one of only two students in his class to do so) and has been consumed with perfecting his craft as a trial lawyer ever since.
Zach graduated from Stetson University College of Law with honors, externed for a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and worked as an extern in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in their Civil Division in Tampa—prosecuting and defending civil cases on behalf of the federal government. While at Stetson, Zach distinguished himself as a writer as Senior Editor for Stetson’s Business Law Review and Stetson’s International Journal on Wildlife Policy.
To further hone his skills as a trial lawyer on behalf of worthy causes against insurmountable opponents, Zach accepted a job offer from the Public Defender’s office where he excelled as a student intern, and went on to try numerous cases on behalf of Floridians accused of crimes. During that time, Zach learned from seasoned trial attorneys with hundreds of trials under their belts, and soaked up decades of collective knowledge in just a couple of years.
Zach brought his rich knowledge base and well-rounded skill set to Newlands Law Group in 2024, having worked for a federal judge, prosecuted and defended claims on behalf of the federal government, and having tried cases to verdict in the state court system. As a trial lawyer at NLG, Zach does everything in his power to make sure his clients are never taken advantage of by the very systems promised to protect them. His commitment to his clients and his fearlessness in the courtroom set him apart and make him a unique asset to Newlands Law Group and its clients.