McQuade says Zacharia's general counsel title would violate California law
Barbara McQuadeFormer U.S. attorney and MS NOW legal analyst, in an opinion column
McQuade wrote that Zacharia's use of the title general counsel at Fix California would seem to amount to holding herself out as entitled to practice law, which without a license would violate California law.
“Using the title “general counsel” would seem to be “holding oneself out as entitled to practice law.” And without a license, that use would put Zacharia in violation of California law.”
Analysis
Where this statement fits
Katie Zacharia defends her legal credentials as watchdog seeks bar investigation
Campaign for Accountability asked the California State Bar to investigate Katie Zacharia's public descriptions of herself as a lawyer and her work for Fix California. Zacharia told AP, through the White House, that she practiced international transaction law with appropriate credentials. The dispute concerns what she represented about her qualifications and whether those representations or her work violated California law.
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
Opinion column by Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney and MS NOW legal analyst, published after Zacharia left the press secretary job. It discusses California's law on holding oneself out as entitled to practice law and her title at Fix California.
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McQuade wrote that Zacharia's descriptions of herself as a lawyer in Fox News appearances may have been misleading but likely did not reach the level of holding oneself out as entitled to practice law under the statute. She then turned to Zacharia's LinkedIn listing as general counsel of Fix California from 2024 to 2025.
After the quotation
She concluded that while the press secretary job does not require a law degree, Zacharia's "resume puffing should have been disqualifying for a White House role built on credibility."
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The matter under scrutiny is how Zacharia described her legal qualifications and whether that broke California law. McQuade says the television label likely did not break the statute but the general counsel title likely did, and calls the overstatement disqualifying. Her overall assessment criticizes Zacharia's descriptions.
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More from this case
Read the full caseCampaign for Accountability renews its call for a State Bar investigation
Campaign for Accountability
“Katie Zacharia getting pushed out as White House Press Secretary is completely immaterial to the fact that she consistently, and apparently falsely, held herself out as a lawyer. This is a crime in California, so we continue to urge the State Bar to investigate and impose any appropriate penalties.”Read statement
Trump says he was not hiring Zacharia to be a lawyer
“Well, I wasn’t hiring her to be a lawyer, ... I would say it probably wouldn’t have mattered.”Read statement
Hannity asks Zacharia why she didn't just say she never practiced law
“Why get into this long, drawn-out definition between the difference between a lawyer and an attorney? ... Because I don’t think most people see much of a distinction. Why didn’t you just say, ‘I never practiced law?’”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "McQuade says Zacharia's general counsel title would violate California law". First published: 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20. https://disputeindex.com/events/6268-mcquade-wrote-that-zacharia-s-use-of-the