Our Team

Jasmine Zaki is Managing Partner of our Middle East and North Africa (MENA) practice. She joined Ballard Partners after fifteen years working in Washington, D.C. for leading firms. At Ballard, she advises governments; multinational corporations; institutions and organizations about political, commercial and regulatory matters pertaining to operating effectively both in the U.S. capital as well as across the MENA region.

Ms. Zaki is a trusted advisor to heads of state and senior foreign officials who want to engage the various branches of United States government. Her high-level work draws on two decades of experience and first-hand expertise on and command of decision-making in capitals across the MENA region, including Riyadh, Baghdad, Damascus, Tripoli, Abu Dhabi and Erbil.

As managing partner of the MENA practice, Ms. Zaki represents both American corporations in new global markets and advises foreign companies about the intricacies of the U.S. Government and commercial markets as part of the firm’s international commercial practice. She has positioned leading American firms successfully in the MENA region, providing political, legal and commercial insight and access in markets that are critical to the United States national interest.

Prior to joining Ballard Partners, Ms. Zaki served as Senior Counsel at Bechtel, a leading U.S. corporation. She also practiced international law for over a decade at a top global law firm, advising governments and Fortune 500 companies about market entry and compliance issues including joint ventures; M&A’s; commercial agencies; distribution arrangements and franchising. Ms. Zaki has extensive experience in investment; banking; political risk and economic development as it pertains to post-conflict markets across the MENA region.

Ms. Zaki also serves as Chairwoman of the Board of the Middle East Policy Council, a historic organization dedicated to publishing an academic journal and fostering dialogue and understanding in the Middle East.

She is a frequent media contributor and subject matter expert on the MENA region.

Ms. Zaki holds a JD from Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and a BA, cum laude, from the University of Memphis. Prior to law school, she served at the United Nations as Press Officer for the U.N. Mission to Iraq. Ms. Zaki is fluent in English and Arabic.