Zahra attended Divine Child High School and Wayne State University where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity (PIKE) and worked his way through college with the help of his family who helped him open a health and beauty-aid store in Detroit, which he expanded into a full grocery store.
[2] Upon graduating law school, Zahra clerked for Judge Lawrence Zatkoff of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan until he joined the Detroit law firm of Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman in 1989.
[5] Zahra served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Law School, teaching evidence, and he has served on various bar and legislative committees, including the advisory committee for the Michigan Judicial Institute Domestic Violence Benchbook and the Domestic Violence Legislation Implementation Task Force.
[citation needed] In a 2007 forum, he spoke of his respect for the separation of powers, noting the importance of "leaving to the legislature the significant policy questions of the day.
"[6] While on the Michigan Court of Appeals, Zahra joined Judges Kurtis T. Wilder and Joel Hoekstra in upholding a state constitutional amendment barring public employers from recognizing same-sex unions.