He represents NRDC in a number of matters from lawsuits challenging the Navy’s use of sonar to the government’s permitting of oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the issues he has worked on include the international trade in polar bear parts, the bycatch of marine mammals in international commercial fisheries, and the U.S. Navy’s use of sonar. Before coming to NRDC, Zak was an attorney in the environmental law practice of the law firm Bingham McCutchen. Zak is based in NRDC’s Santa Monica office. He has a law degree from UCLA School of Law, a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.