Christopher Zoukis

Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, is the Managing Director of Elizabeth Franklin-Best P.C. and a nationally recognized federal prison expert. He is the author of the Federal Criminal Defendant’s Handbook (Middle Street Publishing, 2026), The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (Prison Legal News Publishing, 3rd Edition 2026), Directory of Federal Prisons (Middle Street Publishing, 2020), Federal Prison Handbook (Middle Street Publishing, 2017), Prison Education Guide (Prison Legal News Publishing, 2017), and College for Convicts (McFarland & Company, 2014).

While in law school, Mr. Zoukis was the Articles Editor of the University of California Davis Law Review, a Trial Practice Honors Board member, and Vice President of the Criminal Law Association and Students Against Mass Incarceration. He was awarded the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence and the Reynoso Award for Academic Excellence. He also holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (business administration and legal studies) from Adams State University. He also earned Paralegal, Advanced Paralegal, and Employment Law certificates from ASU.

Mr. Zoukis has contributed articles to the Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Prison Legal News, Criminal Legal News, and other media outlets. He has been quoted in many major media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, ABC News, Associated Press, United Press International, USA Today, The Washington Post, Detroit Free Press, The Hill, Bloomberg Law, The Guardian, Yahoo News, and Vice News, among other outlets worldwide.

Mr. Zoukis focuses on federal prison policy matters, including designation, sentence computation, disciplinary, health care, First Step Act, Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program, and reentry areas. Chris has assisted hundreds of clients with federal prison preparation, in-prison, and reentry matters. He is quoted frequently in the national and international press regarding federal prison matters.