White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia has been accused of misleading the public regarding her legal qualifications and experience practicing law, according to a report by the Daily Beast. Zacharia, 41, failed the California bar exam in 2011 after attending Pepperdine University and has claimed to have practiced corporate law in China.
In multiple interviews, she referred to herself as an attorney, which may constitute unauthorized practice of law. During a press briefing, she did not directly answer questions about her legal record, stating only, "When I moved to China," in response to inquiries about where she took her bar exam.
It is noted that foreign nationals are not permitted to practice law in China, and there are no records indicating that Zacharia passed the bar exam in any state. In an attempt to clarify her position, Zacharia told The New York Times that she consulted with Pepperdine’s president prior to her media appearances. She claimed the president advised her that she could refer to herself as a "lawyer" but not as an "attorney" or "esquire."
If her statement is accurate, it implies that she was warned against using the title of attorney but did so regardless. During an appearance on Real America With Dan Bell on One America News Network, when referred to as an attorney, she did not correct the host but instead responded to a question about California Governor Gavin Newsom's actions.
Additionally, in a resurfaced clip, podcast host Jason Ingbger asked her if she was an attorney in Beijing, to which she affirmed. Fox News has also described her as an attorney in its on-screen graphics, but a spokesperson for the network did not respond to inquiries about their booking process for legal analysts.
Zacharia has claimed to have practiced corporate law in China, but Gary Gao, a partner at Zhong Lun Law Firm, stated that while the firm employs foreigners for language assistance, they do not practice Chinese law. He characterized her role as similar to that of a paid internship. Legal experts have raised concerns about whether her repeated claims of being a "lawyer" on various platforms are misleading. The president of Pepperdine University has also praised her legal credentials, referring to her as an "attorney."