Attorney Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma has experience with a vast variety of criminal matters, ranging from high-profile federal trials to simple prosecutions in New York City Criminal Court.  He has won significant sex crimes cases, such as the first-ever successful appeal of a N.Y. Sex Offender Registration Act (Megan's Law) redetermination hearing.  He has obtained favorable results for clients accused of child pornography, sex abuse and other crimes.

After graduating from New York University School of Law, Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma went on to a judicial clerkship in the Southern District of New York.  After that, he worked in the litigation department of the Manhattan office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a large corporate law firm.  Starting in 2002, he practiced at the noted white-collar criminal defense boutique firm of Hafetz & Necheles, where he worked with trial attorneys Frederick P. Hafetz and Susan R. Necheles.  Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma established his own practice in 2004.

For seven years after graduating with a B.A. in anthropology from Columbia College, Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma worked as a journalist in New Orleans, California, Mexico, Guatemala and New York City.  He has written on both legal and non-legal topics in publications ranging from Wired Magazine to the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics (see Publications).  He worked as a reporter for three daily newspapers in New York and Mexico, including the New York Daily News.

In addition to defending clients accused of sex crimes, Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma is a member of the CJA Panels for the both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, providing indigent defense for poor people accused of federal crimes throughout New York City, Westchester, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley.  Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma has tried both civil and criminal cases in the Southern District of New York.  In one high-profile case, he helped persuade the Queens District Attorney's Office to drop a charge of criminal possession of a weapon against a Northwest Airlines pilot accused of carrying a handgun onto his plane.  In another case, he obtained a favorable recovery from the State of New York for a prisoner who had been denied proper medical care for a kidney stone.  He has participated in representing individuals involved in the Martha Stewart trial, the Adelphia investigation, the Enron prosecution and many other significant white-collar criminal cases.

Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma also has experience in civil litigation, immigration and appeals. He handles carefully selected cases for plaintiffs alleging their civil or human rights have been violated. In 2003, Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma won an argument before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that the United States District Courts have habeas corpus jurisdiction to hear appeals from administrative findings under the Convention Against Torture.

Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma is fluent in Spanish and licensed as a notary public in the State of New York.  He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, where, for the past three years, he has organized a training seminar for other lawyers on federal sentencing.  He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Federal Bar Council, and the New York State Bar Association.  Mr. Margulis-Ohnuma's work is distinguished by a strong sense  of professionalism, attention to detail, courtesy to both clients and adversaries, and a deep understanding of the problems faced by those who are accused of crimes.