# Katie Zacharia Legal-Licensure Evidence Review

**Reconstructed report — not a verbatim Deep Research export**  
**Prepared:** October 13, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles)  
**Subject:** Publicly available evidence concerning Katie S. Zacharia’s legal education, U.S. bar admission, work in China, and roles at Zhong Lun Law Firm and Fix California

> **Important provenance notice:** The original Deep Research report is not available in the referenced ChatGPT conversation. That conversation contains only a short description of the intended topics and a link to a blank Google Doc. This document reconstructs the report from the surviving chat context and public sources available as of the date above. It is not a verbatim export and may not contain every source or nuance from the unavailable original.

## Executive summary

The strongest public evidence supports two propositions:

1. **Katie Zacharia earned a J.D. from Pepperdine in 2011.** Pepperdine itself repeatedly identifies her as “Katie S. Zacharia ('07, JD '11).” A J.D. is an academic degree; by itself it is not a license to practice law.
2. **No publicly identified U.S. bar-admission record has been produced.** On October 13, 2026, *Popular Information* reported that it searched attorney records in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found no evidence that Zacharia had been admitted anywhere. The same article specifically reported no listing in California, Texas, or D.C. Official public directories for those jurisdictions are linked below.

That evidence supports the careful conclusion that **Zacharia’s admission to a U.S. bar has not been publicly substantiated**. It does **not** prove that she never sat for or passed a bar examination. Examination results, admission, present license status, and authorization for a limited practice are distinct facts. There is also no single official national registry that conclusively resolves admission in every U.S. jurisdiction.

The record likewise supports that Zacharia worked at Zhong Lun Law Firm in Beijing after law school. Pepperdine has repeatedly described her as a “Former Associate” of Zhong Lun. Public bios have made broader claims—including that she served as outside counsel to the World Bank and International Finance Corporation—but a June 2026 issuer press release used narrower language, saying she worked on matters “involving organizations associated with” those institutions. No primary confirmation from Zhong Lun, the World Bank, or IFC was located in the sources reviewed for this reconstruction.

Chinese law does not make a stint at a Chinese firm equivalent to Chinese lawyer licensure. China’s 2011 national judicial-examination notice required applicants to possess PRC nationality. Chinese law also defines a lawyer as a professional who has obtained a lawyer’s practice certificate and requires an examination, internship, and licensing process. Without evidence of PRC nationality, examination success, and a practice certificate, the available record does not establish that Zacharia was licensed as a PRC lawyer. At the same time, a foreign law graduate can perform research, transaction-support, international, business, communications, or other work at or around a law firm without being licensed to advise on PRC law.

Pepperdine and other public bios also state that Zacharia served as general counsel to Fix California. Her LinkedIn dates, as reported by *Popular Information*, were January 2024 through March 2025, although archived social-media bios continued to use the title later. The title alone does not establish what tasks she performed, where those tasks occurred, or whether they constituted the practice of law. California generally requires an active State Bar license or another recognized authorization to practice law; its registered-in-house-counsel route itself requires an active license in another U.S. jurisdiction and State Bar registration. The available public evidence does not establish that Zacharia held either form of authorization. It would nevertheless be improper to declare a violation of law without evidence of the actual work performed and the applicable authorization, if any.

## Bottom-line findings

| Issue | Finding | Evidence strength |
|---|---|---|
| Pepperdine J.D. | Confirmed by Pepperdine; degree year 2011 | **Strong / primary institutional source** |
| U.S. bar admission | No public admission record identified; a news investigation reports searches of all 50 states and D.C. found none | **Substantial but not conclusive / secondary investigation plus official directories** |
| Passing a U.S. bar exam | Not established either way by the sources reviewed | **Unresolved** |
| Chinese lawyer license | Not established; 2011 PRC examination rules required PRC nationality, and practice required a certificate | **Strong as to legal requirements; unresolved as to personal status** |
| Zhong Lun employment | Pepperdine repeatedly identifies her as a former associate | **Strong / independent institutional source** |
| World Bank/IFC “outside counsel” role | Asserted in interviews and bios; later public wording is materially narrower; no client confirmation located | **Claimed, not independently confirmed** |
| Fix California general counsel title | Confirmed by Pepperdine and reported from her LinkedIn/social profiles | **Strong as to use of title; unresolved as to duties and legal authorization** |
| Unauthorized practice of law | Public record raises a legitimate question but does not establish the elements of a violation | **No definitive finding** |

## Scope and method

This reconstruction separates evidence into four categories:

- **Confirmed fact:** Supported by a primary institutional or government source.
- **Reported finding:** A named publication says it performed a search or obtained a record, but the underlying search cannot be reproduced as a single national government record.
- **Self- or sponsor-described claim:** Appears in a biography, interview, social-media profile, employer announcement, or other promotional material.
- **Inference or unresolved issue:** A conclusion that may be plausible but is not directly established.

Public attorney directories are snapshots. Searches can be affected by name changes, spelling, delayed updates, nonpublic historical data, special admissions, federal-court admissions, or a person’s use of another legal name. Conversely, graduation from law school, employment by a law firm, use of the title “associate,” or performance of law-related work does not establish bar admission.

## 1. Pepperdine education

Pepperdine’s own materials identify Zacharia as a double alumna: undergraduate class of 2007 and J.D. class of 2011.

- Pepperdine Caruso School of Law’s October 12, 2026 announcement calls her “Katie Zacharia ('07, JD '11).”
- Pepperdine’s Dean’s Council roster likewise lists “Katie S. Zacharia ('07, JD '11).”
- Multiple Pepperdine academic catalogs list her as “Former Associate, Zhong Lun Law Firm.”

**Finding:** The Pepperdine J.D. is well supported. Nothing in the reviewed material casts doubt on the degree.

**Necessary distinction:** A Juris Doctor is an academic credential. Admission to practice is a separate governmental or court-controlled process. Depending on the jurisdiction, that process usually includes an examination or another admissions route, character-and-fitness review, an oath, registration, and maintenance of eligible status.

## 2. U.S. bar-admission evidence

### 2.1 What the public record presently shows

On October 13, 2026, *Popular Information* reported:

- Zacharia was not listed as a member of the State Bar of California;
- she was not listed in the State Bar of Texas or D.C. Bar directories; and
- the publication searched all 50 states and D.C. and found no evidence of admission anywhere.

The publication also said it asked the White House whether Zacharia had ever been admitted in any state. According to the article, the response referred the outlet to a presidential social-media post that called her an attorney but did not identify a jurisdiction or bar number.

The official directories relevant to the jurisdictions emphasized in that report are:

- [State Bar of California attorney search](https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/LicenseeSearch/QuickSearch)
- [State Bar of Texas lawyer directory](https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/Search_Form_Client_Main.cfm)
- [D.C. Bar member directory](https://my.dcbar.org/memberdirectory)

The D.C. Bar states that its “Find a Member” feature searches all attorneys licensed to practice in D.C. California says its public attorney search displays license status and disciplinary/administrative history, including special statuses such as registered in-house counsel.

### 2.2 What the record does not prove

The evidence does **not** justify the unqualified statement “Zacharia never passed a bar exam.” Passing an examination is not the same as completing admission, and exam results may not appear in a public membership directory. Nor does an empty search result conclusively exclude admission under another legal name or a stale, incomplete, or anomalous record.

The most defensible formulation is:

> **As of October 13, 2026, no public record reviewed for this reconstruction substantiates that Katie S. Zacharia was admitted to practice law in any U.S. state or the District of Columbia. A separate journalistic investigation reported the same result after searching all 50 states and D.C.**

This is a finding about available evidence—not proof of a universal negative.

### 2.3 Reported October 13 response

After her first White House briefing on October 13, *The Daily Beast* reported that Zacharia was asked where she had passed the bar examination and answered, “when I moved to China,” without naming a U.S. jurisdiction. That report is secondary evidence of the exchange; the full briefing video is publicly available through several outlets. Even if accurately quoted, the answer does not identify a bar, an admission date, or a license number.

## 3. China: examination and lawyer-licensing requirements

### 3.1 Requirements during the relevant period

Zacharia’s reported Zhong Lun tenure began in 2011. The Chinese Ministry of Justice’s official 2011 National Judicial Examination announcement stated that an applicant had to:

- possess nationality of the People’s Republic of China;
- support the PRC Constitution and possess electoral rights;
- have full civil capacity;
- meet the education requirements; and
- be of good character.

The 2011 nationality requirement is especially important because it comes from the same period as the reported start of her work in Beijing. Current rules continue to require PRC nationality for the National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination.

The PRC Lawyers Law separately provides that a “lawyer” is a professional who has acquired a lawyer’s practice certificate. Its ordinary licensing route requires passing the national examination, completing a one-year internship at a law firm, satisfying character requirements, applying to the competent judicial authority, and receiving the practice certificate.

### 3.2 What follows—and what does not

If Zacharia was not a PRC national, the 2011 rules indicate she could not have qualified for the ordinary national judicial examination in that year. The reviewed sources describe her as American but do not provide an authoritative citizenship record; this reconstruction therefore does not make an absolute finding about nationality.

More importantly, employment at Zhong Lun does not itself prove admission as a Chinese lawyer. A non-licensed law graduate could plausibly work on research, foreign-law issues, cross-border transactions, drafting support, client coordination, fundraising, communications, or business matters.

China’s regulations governing representative offices of **foreign** law firms further illustrate the separation between foreign-law work and PRC-law practice: authorized foreign-firm representatives may advise on the law of jurisdictions where their lawyers are admitted, international treaties and practices, and the effects of China’s legal environment, but they may not practice Chinese law. Those foreign-office rules do not necessarily govern every detail of employment at Zhong Lun, which is a Chinese firm, so they should not be mechanically applied to Zacharia’s precise role. They are useful context, not proof of her status.

**Finding:** The available evidence does not substantiate that Zacharia held a Chinese lawyer’s practice certificate or passed China’s national judicial examination. Her China work is compatible with a law-related role that did not require Chinese lawyer licensure.

## 4. Zhong Lun Law Firm and World Bank/IFC claims

### 4.1 What is independently supported

Pepperdine has repeatedly identified Zacharia as a “Former Associate” at Zhong Lun Law Firm, including in law-school catalogs and donor/Dean’s Council materials. This is independent institutional corroboration that she had an affiliation with the firm.

Publicly repeated dates—August 2011 to June 2013—and the description “Associate, International Practice Team” appear to derive from résumé or LinkedIn-style biographical data. Those exact dates were not independently confirmed by a contemporaneous Zhong Lun staff page in the sources reviewed.

### 4.2 The broader “outside counsel” description

Zacharia has reportedly described herself in interviews as “outside counsel” to the World Bank and IFC while at Zhong Lun. Similar language appears in promotional biographies.

There is, however, a meaningful variation in how the experience is described:

- The broad version says she personally served as outside counsel to the World Bank and IFC.
- A June 4, 2026 NovaRed Mining announcement says her Zhong Lun work included “matters involving organizations associated with the World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation.”
- Pepperdine’s materials establish only the more general role of former Zhong Lun associate.

Those descriptions are not equivalent. Working at a firm on a matter involving an institution, an affiliate, a borrower, a project company, or another associated organization is not necessarily the same as being retained personally—or even having one’s firm retained directly—as that institution’s outside counsel.

**Finding:** Zhong Lun employment is well supported. The specific claim that Zacharia personally served as outside counsel to the World Bank and IFC remains unverified in the sources reviewed. No engagement letter, matter record, client statement, contemporaneous Zhong Lun biography, or confirmation from the World Bank/IFC was located.

## 5. Fix California role

### 5.1 Evidence that the title was used

Pepperdine’s October 2026 announcement states that Zacharia “served as general counsel for the nonprofit Fix California.” *Popular Information* reported that her LinkedIn listed full-time service as General Counsel from January 2024 to March 2025. The same article documented archived social-media bios using “General Counsel to Fix California” or “General Counsel, Fix California” after March 2025 and into July 2026.

Other biographies have used different or additional titles, including Chief Advancement Officer, Senior Advisor, and Chief Administrative Officer. This may reflect changing duties or inconsistent biography maintenance; the public materials do not resolve the sequence with precision.

### 5.2 Tax-filing evidence

Fix California Inc. is listed under EIN 86-1841038. Its public 2024 Form 990 is available through ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer. *Popular Information* reported from the filing that Zacharia received no salary but was paid $27,367 as a fundraising commission in 2024. That evidence speaks to reported compensation, not the complete content of her duties.

### 5.3 California legal framework

California Business and Professions Code § 6125 states the general rule that a person may not practice law in California unless an active State Bar licensee. Section 6126 addresses advertising, holding oneself out as entitled to practice, or practicing without an active license or other authorization.

California recognizes exceptions and limited-practice programs. Of particular relevance, an attorney licensed and in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction may apply to practice for a qualifying California employer as **Registered In-House Counsel**. State Bar rules require registration, public listing, annual renewal, and use of the specific title “Registered In-House Counsel”; the attorney may not claim to be a California-licensed attorney.

Because the current record does not identify an underlying U.S. license, a California license, or a California registered-in-house-counsel record, the public evidence does not explain what authorization—if any—supported legal services performed under the Fix California title.

But title evidence alone is not enough to establish unauthorized practice. A reliable legal conclusion would require facts about:

- the work actually performed;
- where it was performed;
- whether it involved advice on California law or representation of the organization;
- whether another lawyer supervised or assumed responsibility for it;
- whether an exception, temporary authorization, federal-law practice, or other rule applied; and
- the precise meaning Fix California assigned to the title.

**Finding:** Use of the general-counsel title is well documented. Public sources reviewed here do not establish a corresponding U.S. bar admission or limited California authorization, but they also do not provide enough facts to conclude that Zacharia committed unauthorized practice of law.

## 6. Evidence distinctions and caveats

### Degree vs. license

- **J.D.:** Academic degree awarded by a law school.
- **Passed bar exam:** Examination result; not necessarily public and not by itself admission.
- **Admitted/licensed:** Formal authorization by a jurisdiction, usually following all admission steps.
- **Active/eligible status:** Current ability to practice; a formerly admitted lawyer may be inactive, suspended, resigned, retired, or otherwise ineligible.
- **Special/limited authorization:** Permission to perform defined work without ordinary full admission, such as registered in-house counsel or pro hac vice admission.

### Job title vs. regulated activity

“Associate,” “counsel,” “legal adviser,” and “general counsel” often imply legal work, but a title alone does not reveal the tasks performed or prove licensure. Conversely, non-court work—contract advice, legal research, negotiations, compliance analysis, or organizational representation—may still count as practicing law depending on jurisdiction and facts.

### Absence of a directory record

An empty directory search is evidence, especially when multiple official jurisdictions and name variants are checked, but it is not mathematically conclusive. Stronger proof would include an affirmative statement from every relevant licensing authority, certified admission records, or a disclosure from Zacharia identifying the jurisdiction, bar number, admission date, and status.

### Promotional sources

University announcements, employer bios, board appointments, campaign biographies, and press releases can confirm what an institution publicly claims, but they may rely on information supplied by the subject and may not independently audit licensure. This report therefore treats Pepperdine as strong evidence of its own degree and catalog records, but not as conclusive proof of bar admission or client engagements.

### No adjudication

No disciplinary decision, court judgment, or licensing-agency determination concerning Zacharia was identified in the materials reviewed. This report should not be read as making a criminal, disciplinary, or civil finding.

## 7. Most defensible conclusions

1. **Confirmed:** Katie S. Zacharia earned a Pepperdine J.D. in 2011.
2. **Confirmed:** Pepperdine has repeatedly identified her as a former associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm.
3. **Not publicly substantiated:** Admission to practice in any U.S. state or D.C.
4. **Not established either way:** Whether she ever sat for or passed a U.S. bar examination.
5. **Not publicly substantiated:** A PRC lawyer’s practice certificate or success on China’s national judicial examination.
6. **Plausible without licensure:** Performance of law-related, cross-border, research, transaction-support, or business work at Zhong Lun.
7. **Claimed but not independently confirmed:** Personal service as outside counsel to the World Bank and IFC.
8. **Confirmed as a public title:** General Counsel of Fix California.
9. **Unresolved:** The exact duties performed for Fix California and the legal authorization, if any, under which legal services were provided.
10. **Not established:** Unauthorized practice of law. The public record raises questions but lacks the task-specific facts and adjudication needed for that conclusion.

## 8. What would resolve the open questions

The fastest conclusive clarification would be a statement or documentary record identifying:

- the U.S. jurisdiction of admission;
- the name used at admission;
- bar or license number;
- admission date and current status;
- any California special-registration number;
- the Chinese credential or practice-certificate number, if Chinese licensure is asserted;
- a precise description of the Zhong Lun role and the World Bank/IFC matters; and
- a precise description of the legal versus fundraising, administrative, communications, or political duties performed for Fix California.

## Source register

### Primary and official sources

1. Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, “Katie Zacharia ('07, JD '11) Named White House Press Secretary” (Oct. 12, 2026):  
   https://law.pepperdine.edu/surf-report/posts/katie-zacharia-named-white-house-press-secretary.htm

2. Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, Dean’s Council roster:  
   https://law.pepperdine.edu/about/our-people/administration/board/deans-council.htm

3. Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, 2020–2021 academic catalog (listing Zacharia as former Zhong Lun associate):  
   https://law.pepperdine.edu/degrees-programs/content/2020-2021-academic-catalog-edt.pdf

4. Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, 2024–2025 academic catalog:  
   https://law.pepperdine.edu/degrees-programs/content/academic-catalog-2024-2025-updated.pdf

5. State Bar of California, attorney search:  
   https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/LicenseeSearch/QuickSearch

6. State Bar of Texas, lawyer directory:  
   https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/Search_Form_Client_Main.cfm

7. D.C. Bar, member directory:  
   https://my.dcbar.org/memberdirectory

8. D.C. Bar FAQ explaining the scope of its member search:  
   https://www.dcbar.org/About/FAQs

9. State Bar of California, State Bar Act index (§§ 6125–6126):  
   https://www.calbar.ca.gov/legal-professionals/rules/state-bar-act

10. State Bar of California, Registered In-House Counsel rules:  
    https://www.calbar.ca.gov/legal-professionals/rules/rules-state-bar/title-3-programs-and-services/article-3-registered-house-counsel

11. State Bar of California, special admissions overview:  
    https://www.calbar.ca.gov/es/node/142

12. State Bar of California, license-status definitions:  
    https://www.calbar.ca.gov/sites/default/files/portals/0/documents/members/Status.html

13. PRC Ministry of Justice, 2011 National Judicial Examination announcement (Chinese):  
    https://www.moj.gov.cn/pub/sfbgw/jgsz/jgszzsdw/zsdwgjsfkszx/gjsfksldgg/202102/t20210203_172564.html

14. Supreme People’s Court of the PRC, English text of the Lawyers Law, including Articles 2, 5, and 6:  
    https://english.court.gov.cn/2015-08/17/c_761521_2.htm

15. PRC Ministry of Justice, 2026 National Unified Legal Professional Qualification Examination announcement (Chinese):  
    https://www.moj.gov.cn/pub/sfbgwapp/zwgk/tzggApp/202606/t20260605_536064.html

16. PRC national administrative-regulations database, Regulations on Administration of Foreign Law Firms’ Representative Offices, including Article 15 (Chinese):  
    https://xzfg.moj.gov.cn/front/law/detail?LawID=1759

17. Zhong Lun, official firm overview:  
    https://en.zhonglun.com/about/overview

18. Fix California Inc., 2024 Form 990 reconstruction from IRS XML, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 86-1841038):  
    https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/861841038/202503169349307250/full

19. NovaRed Mining Inc., “NovaRed Appoints Katie Zacharia to the Advisory Board” (June 4, 2026):  
    https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/302631

### Investigative and secondary sources

20. Judd Legum, *Popular Information*, “Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, claims she’s a lawyer. Is she?” (Oct. 13, 2026):  
    https://popular.info/p/trumps-new-press-secretary-katie

21. *The Daily Beast*, “Trump’s New Mouthpiece Cornered on Mysterious Legal Credentials” (Oct. 13, 2026):  
    https://www.thedailybeast.com/katie-zacharia-cornered-on-strange-legal-resume-claims

22. California Globe, Katie Zacharia author page (bio asserting Fix California and World Bank/IFC roles):  
    https://californiaglobe.com/author/katie-zacharia/page/2/

23. Full White House press briefing video, Fox 5 DC (Oct. 13, 2026):  
    https://www.fox5dc.com/video/fmc-wzrp6xc63sbcx5h3.amp

## Research limitations

- The original Deep Research output was not present in the referenced conversation.
- No comprehensive national U.S. licensing database exists; the 50-state-plus-D.C. result is attributed to *Popular Information*.
- Interactive bar directories do not always provide stable URLs preserving a negative name-search result.
- No official response from Zacharia identifying a jurisdiction, license number, or admission date was located in the reviewed sources.
- No contemporaneous Zhong Lun profile, World Bank/IFC confirmation, engagement record, or Chinese practice certificate was located.
- Web pages and licensing records can change after the report date.

---

*This document is an evidence review, not legal advice. It reports and evaluates publicly available material as of October 13, 2026 and deliberately distinguishes confirmed facts from claims, reported search results, and unresolved questions.*