RACHEL MAY ZYSK
OF COUNSEL
RACHEL MAY ZYSK
OF COUNSEL
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Ms. Zysk began her career at the Office of the Federal Defender for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa, where she interned during her final semester in law school. Ms. Zysk was immediately assigned to a trial team that successfully defended a client in a highly publicized six-month terrorism trial. Ms. Zysk defended indigent individuals charged with federal crimes, both at the trial level and on appeal, until entering private practice with a national law firm. There, she began specializing in complex civil and criminal litigation, with a focus on highly regulated industries such as health care, banking, government contracting, environmental protections, employee identification theft, international business transactions, and anti-money laundering compliance. She represents individuals and businesses facing government investigations or charged with crimes; defends qui tam relator suits and False Claims Act violations; advises on compliance with federal and state regulations; conducts corporate internal investigations; and presents matters to prosecuting authorities on behalf of individual and corporate clients for the purpose of possible criminal prosecution. Ms. Zysk also defends the interests of corporations and individuals, including innocent third parties such as spouses, against government restitution and forfeiture actions.
Born and raised in the Thousand Islands region of New York, Ms. Zysk attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., graduating cum laude in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. She attended Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, FL where she was a member of the Stetson Law Review. In 2004, she graduated from Stetson Law a semester early and third in her class, receiving her Juris Doctorate cum laude with a Certificate of Concentration in International Law.
Professional and Civic Activities
The Florida Bar
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Advisory Board, The Champion Magazine
13th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee, Coordinator, Pro Bono Awards (2011-2019)
Honorable Robert J. Simms High School Mock Trial Committee, Chairperson (2006-2014)
Herbert G. Goldburg Criminal Law American Inn of Court (2006-2012)
American Bar Association, Editorial Board, ABA Criminal Litigation Newsletter (2007-2009)
Bar Admissions
Honors and Awards
2020
2019
AV (Preeminent) Rating, White Collar Crime and Litigation (Martindale-Hubbell)
Best Lawyers in America, White Collar Criminal Defense (U.S. News & World Report, 2018-2020)
Publications
05.2017
Co-Author, “Proving Money Laundering Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: The Problem of Commingled Property Under 18 U.S.C. § 1957,”
The Champion (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) at 34 (May 2017).
10.2016
Co-Author, “Immunity from Criminal Prosecution under Florida’s Stand Your Ground,”
HCACDL Newsletter (Hillsborough County Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) at 4 (Fall 2016).
08.2010
The Champion (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) at 42 (August 2010).
06.2010
Florida Super Lawyers Magazine (Thomson Reuters) (June 2010).
01.2010
Litigation News (American Bar Association)(January 2010).
11.2009
The Lawyer (Hillsborough County Bar Association) at 20 (November 2009).
10.2008
Author, “Recent Florida Supreme Court Jurisprudence, Crawford v. Washington,”
The Lawyer (Hillsborough County Bar Association) at 24 (October 2008).
10.2008
Corporate Integrity: the Newsletter of the Corporate Integrity and White Collar Crime Committee
(DRI: The Voice of the Defense Bar (October 2008).
10.2008
09.2008
Featured, Amanda A. Sansone, “YLD Board Gives Awards to Deserving Recipients,”
The Lawyer(Hillsborough County Bar Association) at 8 (September 2008).
07.2007
The Champion (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) at 12 (July 2007).
09/10.2006
The Champion (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) at 42 (September/October 2006).
Previous Experience
Carlton Fields, P.A. (2007-2012)
Civil and criminal defense, government investigations, business litigation, trade regulation
Federal Defender for the Middle District of Florida (2005-2007)
Federal criminal defense of indigent individuals at trial and
on appeal