Attorney
Co-founder and CEO at Z.A. Lawyers
Gina Zapanta is a co-founder and CEO at Z.A. Lawyers and CEO of AlderLaw. In October 2022, Z.A. Lawyers expanded into Louisiana. In 2012, she founded The LA Center for Orthopedics, a concierge lien-based medical practice while working with her father, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Zapanta.
In 2003, Gina received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California. She obtained her Juris Doctor in 2007 from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. She passed the California Bar in 2009.
Her previous employment includes time at the private equity firm The Yucaipa Companies, working directly with Ron Burkle from 2007 to 2010. In 2005, she provided investor relations support for the founding of ProAmerica Bank working with Executive Chairwoman and Founder Maria Contreras-Sweet.
In March 2020 during the height of COVID, she and her husband, trial attorney Mike Alder, founded Z.A. Gives, a non-profit addressing food insecurity and access to education support. They’ve pledged proceeds from both law firms to help fund their efforts and, to-date, have contributed over $500,000 to various causes. They are the first private citizens to host a ‘day of giving’ at the Weingart East LA YMCA and separately established an endowment at Loyola Law School for a first generation Latina to attend law school. They remain devoted advocates for the East LA community and social and educational causes dear to their hearts.
In 2020, Gina co-created a partnership with world-renowned author Stedman Graham to deliver his Identity Leadership program to inner-city students. She continues to develop strategic alliances with Stedman Graham Enterprises. In 2021, she created the Empower Hour movement in response to people asking her for the secrets to ‘having it all’ as a woman in business, family, life and wellness. A powerfully motivating platform focused on self-love and a no-excuse to success philosophy. It includes in-person speaking events, monthly virtual meetings and the podcast ‘Empower Hour with Gina Zapanta’. On this platform, Gina openly and honestly shares her journey through cancer, divorce, re-marriage, founding and managing business, surrogacy, being a mom, her ‘awakening’ and provides her ‘how to’ to living unapologetically for self despite all odds.
Involvement
● Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association (LACERA)- January 2018- Nov 2022.
● Children’s Hospital Los Angeles- January 2021- present
● Monterey Park Hospital – 2019- present
● White Memorial Medical Center- September 2020 – present
● Loyola Law School- September 2020- present.
● USC Latino Alumni Association, Corporate Advisory Council- January 2020 – present
● Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce- December 2020- present
● President, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Louisiana, October 2022.
Gina resides in Sherman Oaks, CA and has three young children: Sofia, Valentina and Elias. She and Mike own Z.A. Ranch in Covington, Louisiana. They visit multiple times a year for rest, to entertain family/friends and build-out the expansion of their law firm there.
