Wadud Ahmad, Esquire

As President of Ahmad Zaffarese, I oversee the growth, stability, and strategic vison of the firm. The strategic vision of Ahmad Zaffarese is to promote the benefits of minority representation, by demonstrating excellence in all we do. My responsibility is to ensure that the bouquet of ideas, life experiences and cultural perspectives that each of our attorneys possess is leveraged for the benefit of our clients. By creating an environment where our attorneys are free to work collaboratively, without the restraint of billable hour requirements, we are able to provide our clients with the highest level of representation.

Before founding Ahmad Zaffarese, I began my legal career as a prosecutor at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Currently, my practice focuses on public finance, and advising municipalities and businesses on responsible corporate governance.

I have advised elected officials in both local and state government in matters of public policy, budgetary concerns, and approaches to solving some of the challenges facing the citizenry. I believe my unique, yet direct approach has gained the trust of leadership in both the public and private sector. As a result, I have had the privilege of serving on the Transition Teams of District Attorneys, Attorney Generals, Mayors, and Governors.

In 2009, during one of the nation’s worst recessions, Pennsylvania Senate leadership asked me to serve on the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority’s board (PICA), which oversees the City of Philadelphia’s budget, and reviews areas of financial concern affecting the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Philadelphia. I also served on the Pennsylvania Tobacco Settlement Investment board, which was responsible for overseeing a special fund and account, for money received by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from The Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco manufacturers. I was appointed to the Port of Philadelphia (PhilaPort) Advisory Board to provide strategic guidance to the PhilaPort Board. In addition, I served on The Philadelphia Defenders Association’s board, and was instrumental in hiring the first African American Defender to lead the agency. During my time as Vice Chairman of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, A bi-state transportation agency with a 140-mile jurisdiction, I sought to be a consensus builder who helped steer Pennsylvania and New Jersey Commissioners towards agreements, and the building of the Scudder Falls (I-295) Toll Bridge – the largest single project in agency history and its first river crossing with an all-electronic toll-collection system. In addition to my work at Ahmad Zaffarese, I am currently the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC), where I am challenging the PTC staff to reimagine the Turnpike.

I earned my Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law and my undergraduate degree from Temple University.

Lastly, I am an Art enthusiast and spoken word artist.

For me, Art is not simply a medium that one works in, but rather, is an approach to how one sees the world and how to solve the problems therein.