Each year the Iranian American Bar Association convenes an annual membership meeting during which IABA members in good standing review the organization's accomplishments during the past year, help identify objectives for the coming year and elect a new Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is currently made up of eight (8) members: one for each existing Chapter, three representatives elected from the membership at large, and one Student Director. IABA also has several officer positions at the national level: President, Executive Director, Treasurer and Secretary. Each Chapter also has its own board or equivalent governing body, led by its Chapter Vice President.

IABA has recruited distinguished members of the Iranian American Legal Community as members of its Board of Directors and as its Officers, who uphold the highest level of professional integrity and excellence.

The activities engaged in by the Board of Directors on behalf of IABA are conducted solely in their individual and private capacity, and on a volunteer basis. Any references to employers, organizations or other affiliations in the Directors' biographical information are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to represent any affiliation between those named employers and organizations and IABA.


The 2009-2010 IABA Board of Directors

Panteha Abdollahi (2009-11)

Panteha Abdollahi is an associate in the litigation group of the Orange County office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Her practice focuses on complex business and commercial disputes, and she also has significant experience in health care litigation, securities litigation, and class actions. Ms. Abdollahi's practice includes both state and federal jurisdictions, and she has litigated before the American Arbitration Association. Prior to joining Paul Hastings, Ms. Abdollahi served for two years as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Cormac J. Carney of the United States District Court, Central District of California. She is an alumnus of the Trial Attorney Partnership program of the Orange County District Attorney's Office. While participating in the program, Ms. Abdollahi worked full-time as a deputy district attorney, first-chairing a trial to a guilty verdict and prosecuting felony preliminary hearings.

Ms. Abdollahi received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology and history, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2000. She graduated with both College Honors and Psychology Departmental Honors, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. Ms. Abdollahi received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 2003, where she was a recipient of the UCLA School of Law David Simon Scholarship. While in law school, Ms. Abdollahi interned for the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division as well as the Los Angeles Superior Court. She was Chief Articles Editor for the UCLA Journal of Islamic & Near Eastern Law as well as an Articles Director for the UCLA Women's Law Journal. Her student note, regarding the labor certification process and its professional responsibility implications for attorneys, was published in the Georgetown Immigration Journal.

Ms. Abdollahi is active in the Orange County legal community. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Federal Bar Association of Orange County and is a member of the Orange County Bar Association as well as the Association of Business Trial Lawyers. Ms. Abdollahi has been active with the IABA since 2004, and is one of the founding members of the Orange County Chapter.

Salman Elmi (2009-11)

Salman Elmi is an associate at Ashcraft & Gerel LLP, a victims' rights law firm. Mr. Elmi spent the first few years of his legal career focusing on FDA/Healthcare Regulatory matters at law firms in Washington, D.C. and New York City, before joining Ashcraft and Gerel, LLP in June 2004. Mr. Elmi is a member of the American Bar Association, the District of Columbia Bar Association, and the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. His practice areas include pharmaceutical litigation, negligence, mass torts, and products liability litigation.

He attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he completed the pre-med course requirements, graduating with two Bachelor of Arts Degrees in 1997. During the period of his undergraduate education, Mr. Elmi added to his pre-med studies by serving as both a research assistant at the University Medical Center's Pediatric Cardiology Laboratories and in a volunteer capacity with the University Medical Center's Radiology Department. Mr. Elmi attended law school at Emory University School of Law, receiving his J.D. degree in May, 2000. While at Emory, he was awarded a letter of commendation for excellence in the Law School's prestigious Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program.

Mr. Elmi was admitted to the bar of the State of Maryland in 2000 and to the District of Columbia in 2001.


Farschad Farzan (2009-10)

Farschad Farzan is an associate at Perkins Coie LLP's Litigation practice. He focuses on complex litigation matters for public and private businesses ranging from start-ups to mature companies. He advises clients on litigation avoidance and prelitigation strategies. He also represents clients in litigation, ranging from simple breach-of-contract matters to more complex issues such as class actions, product liability, patent infringement, antitrust and unfair competition.

Prior to joining Perkins Coie, Mr. Farzan was a senior associate at Morgan Miller Blair and prior to that a senior associate attorney with the San francisco office of Bingham McCutchen LLP where he practiced for almost six years. His practice focused on commercial, antitrust, and intellectual property litigation. Farschad was very involved with the firm's pro bono program, and in 2007, the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights awarded him with the Keta Taylor Colby Pro Bono Award. While in law school, Farschad presented an oral intervention to the full body of the U.N. Commission for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzeland. Mr. Farzan also served as an extern for the Law and Motions Department of the San Francisco County Superior Court for the Honorable David A. Garcia (Ret.) and the Honorable Ronald E. Quidachay.

Mr. Farzan grauated magna cum lauder from the University of San Francisco, School of Law, and was a Phi Beta Kappa Senior Scholar at the University of Arkansas. Mr. Farzan is admitted to practice in California.


Hanji Ganji (2009-10)

Hani Ganji is a rising third-year law student at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. His extra-curricular activities during his second year included: representing the nationally acclaimed Hastings Moot Court Team in the Emory Civil Rights Competition in Atlanta, Georgia; serving as a teacher's assistant for Legal Writing & Research and Moot Court; student editor on the Hastings Law Journal; and co-president of the Iranian-American Law Students Association. In his third year, Mr. Ganji will extern for the Honorable Justice Ming Chin of the California Supreme Court and organize the Hastings Law Journal's symposia as a senior symposium editor.

During his 2L summer, Mr. Ganji interned at Clyde & Co, a London-based law firm. Additionally, in his 1L summer, Mr. Ganji served as a law clerk for the Social Security Administration's Office of General counsel and an intern for the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

Prior to law school, Mr. Ganji attended University of California, Los Angeles where he majored in business-economics coupled with minors in political science and accounting. He also served as a director for the Iranian Student Group. Upon graduating, Mr. Ganji joined Deloitte, an international consulting firm, where he worked in the firm's enterprise risk, audit, strategy & operations, and financial advisory services divisions.


Katayoun Goshtasbi (2008-10)

Katayoun Goshtasbi practice area is focused on federal securities laws, where she concentrates on consulting regarding investment management issues related to mutual funds, investment advisers and broker-dealers. Ms. Goshtasbi has held positions with the Indiana Securities Division, with the national association of state securities regulators in Washington DC, as well as serving as Senior Counsel to the Investment Management Division at the Securities & Exchange Commission in Washington DC. Thereafter, she practiced with the firm of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, in Washington DC, prior to relocating to Newport Beach, CA to become investment counsel to Pacific Life Insurance Company.

Ms. Goshtasbi holds an undergraduate degree in Finance and Accounting, in addition to her law degree. She currently resides in San Diego with her husband.


Kafah Bachari Manna (2009-11)

Kafah B, graduated cum laude from the University of Houston Law Center in 2004 and also holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Long Island University. After graduating from law school, she began work as a corporate associate in private equity and mergers and acquisitions with Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP in Houston, Texas.

In the fall of 2006, Mrs. Manna left Weil to become Assistant General Counsel and Vice President at AIG Investments where she was primarily involved in corporate finance. Most recently, Mrs. Manna has taken a temporary leave of absence from the practice of law to pursue a writing career and to devote time to various non-profit organizations, including the ACLU, where she is involved in establishing a CLE program about Islamic family law and its interrelation with Texas family law, and to the Iranian American Bar Association.

Mrs. Manna currently resides in Houston with her husband and young son and will be welcoming another son to her growing family in the summer. She is admitted to practice in Texas and is fluent in Farsi (Persian).


Nema Milaninia (2008-10)

Nema Milaninia is an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto, where he focuses on general litigation. His practice includes intellectual property, white collars crimes, and complex business transactions. He is also currently the executive director of the International Studies Journal, a publication on human rights, democracy and international relations based out of Tehran, Iran. Mr. Milaninia received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Mr. Milaninia was a legal advisor in Cambodia for the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights and also worked for a number of non-profit organizations in Cairo, Egypt for the prevention of torture and cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment. As part of his pro bono work, Mr. Milaninia continues to assist a number of Iranian-American organizations inside the United States obtain non-profit status for a variety of causes.

Mr. Milaninia has has published numerous articles on Iran, human rights, and democracy and has been featured on National Public Radio, National Law Journal, San Diego Tribune, BBC News, New York Times, Toronto Star, the Guardian, and other publications. He is fluent in Persian and Arabic and has a working knowledge of French and Italian.

Mr. Milaninia was one of the founders of the Northern California chapter for IABA as well as the Chapter Vice-President. He is admitted in California and before the Northern District of California and the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.


Niki K. Moore (2009-10)

Niki Khoshzamir Moore is an associate with the firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP. Ms. Moore concentrates her practice on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on high-stakes patent litigation. Ms. Moore has represented clients in a variety of industries and has experience in developing patent and non-patent defenses and counterclaims. She earned her Juris Doctorate from University of California, Berkeley Law School in 2006.

Prior to beginning her legal career, Ms. Moore was a senior research assistant with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where she conducted cancer research and gene mutation analysis. She completed her B.S. in Biology, summa cum laude, at Texas Southern Univeristy.

Ms. Moore volunteers as a Citizen Teacher in Citizen Schools' mock trial program. Citizen Schools is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing after-school education for middle-school children. She is also the founder and president of LEONA Foundation, a non-profit corporation aiming to provide education and career counseling, legal rights counseling and psychological counseling to women of middle-eastern descent.


Karen Ostad (2009-10)

Karen Ostad is a partner in the New York office of Morrison & Foerster LLP and a member of the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group. Ms. Ostad has extensive experience in representing significant stakeholders in large and complex U.S. and multinational insolvency proceedings, including Chapter 11 and Chapter 15 proceedings, and out of court restructurings of distressed companies. She advises on both the corporate and litigation aspects of restructurings. Ms. Ostad was recently featured in an expose published by The Deal entitled "Breaking Ground," which recognized her precedent-setting work in the cross-border restructuring area.

Ms. Ostad speaks regularly on issues of corporate restructuring and insolvency. She is a member of the faculty of the Practicing Law Institute's Bankruptcy Skills courses and has been a speaker and author on topics of insolvency law and creditors' rights. She is a member of the Panel of Mediators of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. Additionally, she is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Creditors' Rights and Insolvency Committee of the International Bar Association, and the Corporate Restructuring Subcommittee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She is admitted to practice in the states of New Jersey and New York. Ms. Ostad received her J.D. from New York Law School in 1988. She received her B.A. from New York University in 1985.

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Ms. Ostad was a partner in the New York office of Lovells. Ms. Ostad is proficient in French, Persian and German and is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.


Anthony B. Ravani (2009-11)

Mr. Ravani is an entrepreneur and previously worked with Microsoft and Exxon/Mobil at an executive level. He is now currently an immigration and family Law attorney practicing in Seattle, Washington. Over the past 20 years Mr. Ravani has had a successful career growing mid-size companies and start-ups into large public corporations. Mr. Ravani has been guest speaker at the UCLA MBA program, Comdex, and various other forums and conferences in Europe, Japan, and the United States. He has taught MBA courses at University of Houston, and has taught Venture Capital Backed Entrepreneurial Start-Ups at Seattle University School of Law as an Adjunct Professor.

Mr. Ravani joined Microsoft in the early 1990s and built a world-wide licensing/operation organization with over 200 software engineers working in Europe, Japan, and the United States. He reported directly to the executive team of Microsoft and worked directly with Bill Gates. Some of Mr. Ravani's accomplishments were described in Bill Gates' book: "Business at the Speed of Thought," as models of business during digital and internet era. Mr. Ravanileft Microsoft toward the end of 1999 to start up his first SaaS venture. In addition, Mr. Ravani formed a non-profit organization to help abused women. He has provided over 500 hours of pro-bono annually taking cases in domestic violence and asylum, amongst others.

Mr. Ravani received a B.S. and an M.S. degrees in Accounting from University of New Orleans, a M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Louisiana State University, and J.D. from Seattle University, School of Law. He has been admitted to Washington Bar, U.S. Western District Court, and he is a member of American Bar Association, Washington Bar, King County Bar, and American Immigration Lawyers Association.


Shahrooz Shahnavaz (2009-11)

Shahrooz Shahnavaz is an associate with the Los Angeles office of the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP, where he represents clients on a broad range of federal and state income tax planning matters, including tax issues related to domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, dispositions, financings and leveraged buyouts, restructurings, controlled foreign corporations, reorganizations, partnership transactions, private equity transactions, real estate investment trusts and international tax planning. Shahrooz was born and raised in Aachen, Germany.

He and his family migrated to the United States in 1994 when he was 18 years old. Shahrooz attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then continued his studies at Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, TN where he obtained his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 2001.

Mr. Shahnavaz worked as a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers for two years prior to returning to law school in 2003 when he was awarded a full academic scholarship to attend Georgetown University Law Center for a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in taxation. He graduated from Georgetown at the top of his class in 2004 when he was awarded the Thomas Bradbury Chetwood, S.J. Prize for the most distinguished academic performance leading to an LL.M. in taxation. During his studies at Georgetown, Mr. Shahnavaz was one of six students selected by the faculty to present his graduate thesis at the prestigious EUCOTAX seminar at the Universite de Paris-Sorbonne in Paris, France, in April 2004.

Mr. Shahnavaz is admitted to practice in California and is fluent in Farsi (Persian).


Amir Toossi (2009-10)

Amir ("Sam") Toossi an Assistant United States Attorney in New York, NY. Prior to that he was an associate in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP where he practices in the Litigation group. His practice consists of internal investigations and criminal defense, commercial litigation, and intellectual property. His pro bono work includes legislative advice to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and criminal defense work in the federal courts of New York.

Mr. Toossi received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles with a major in English Literature and Political Science. During his time at UCLA, he wrote extensively for the Daily Bruin, which has a circulation of over 50,000. He received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. During his law school years, Mr. Toossi was a member of the Barrister's Council, the Journal of Law and Public Policy and the Criminal Justice Clinic.

Prior to joining Sullivan & Cromwell, Mr. Toossi was an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) in Bronx County where he was a member of the Rackets Bureau. As an ADA, Mr. Toossi prosecuted a wide range of crimes including homicide, official corruption, robbery, gun trafficking and human trafficking. Mr. Toossi also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sterling Johnson, Jr. in the Eastern District of New York.

Mr. Toossi was born in Tehran, but was raised in Montreal, Los Angeles and Phoenix. He is fluent in Persian and has a working knowledge of French.


Hermine Valizadeh (2008-10)

Hermine Valizadeh is an associate at the law firm of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione. Her practice focuses on patent litigation and patent prosecution.

Ms. Valizadeh graduated with Distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Ms. Valizadeh has more than nine years of professional experience in engineering and information technology. Her technology experience encompasses all facets of systems and systems engineering, including architecture design, configuration, integration, implementation, operating systems, networking technologies and database development. She received her J.D. from the New England School of Law. While in law school, Ms. Valizadeh served as an extern to the Honorable Peter C. DiGangi.

Ms. Valizadeh is very active in pro bono efforts at her firm, and is also active in international human rights organizations. She is fluent in Persian and English. Ms. Valizadeh is admitted to practice in Massachusetts.


The 2009-2010 IABA Officers

President: Nema Milaninia

Vice-President: Niki K. Moore

Treasurer: Maryam Amini


In addition to a Board of Directors, IABA has an Advisory Board comprised mostly of past Directors and other distinguished members of the Iranian American Community.

IABA Advisory Board

As of April 2009, the members of the IABA Advisory Board are:

Jamie Abadian

Jamie Abadian is a family law attorney and corporate counsel consulant in the Washington, D.C. metro area. In the past, Mr. Abadian was general counsel for Debt Shield, Inc. and L&M. Produce Co., Inc. where he was responsible for negotiating all major contracts and negotiations. He was also associate general counsel for Veridian Corporation/Veritect, Inc. and Socrates Technologies. Altogether, Mr. Abadian brings together over 10 years of legal experience assisting corporations and private individuals in legal disputes. Mr. Abadian received his B.A. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1996 and his B.A. in Political Science/International Relations from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1990.

Cyrus Amir-Mokri

Cyrus Amir-Mokri is a partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York where he concentrates in complex commercial litigation, principally in matters affecting the financial services industry. Mr. Amir-Mokri is also on the Board of Directors for the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) and is also a founding member and supporter of the Iranian-American Political Action Committee. Mr. Amir-Mokri graduated from Harvard College in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry. While in college, he served as co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard International Review and authored a study of the impact of the Kennedy Administration's foreign policy on the "White Revolution" in Iran. He earned a Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Chicago's department of history and earned his J.D. from University of Chicago Law School. In 1998-99, Mr. Amir-Mokri served as law clerk to the Honorable Bruce M. Selya of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Nader Ahari

M. Nader Ahari has been practicing law in New York City for close to twenty years. As the principal of the Law Office of M. Nader Ahari, his specialty extends to the fields of tax, corporations, trust and estate, with a concentration in offshore and onshore tax and estate planning. Mr. Ahari first practiced tax and corporate law with Lane & Mittendorf in New York City from 1989 - 1992. He holds a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law (1989) and an LL.M in taxation from New York University (1995). He has also received an M.P.A. from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (1986) and a B.A. in history with honors from Brown University (1984). Mr. Ahari is a member of the Tax Committee of the American Bar Association and member of the Association of the City of New York Bar Association. Mr. Ahari also remains active in community service and currently serves on the board of several private and public foundations.

Michael Farhang

Michael M. Farhang is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher where he has a specialized expertise in federal white collar criminal matters and federal court practice. Between 1996 and 2003, he served as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice. While with the DOJ, during May and June of 2003, Mr. Farhang served as part of a 13-member legal team (consisting of federal judges, prosecutors and public defenders) sent to Iraq to assist the Coalition Provisional Authority with reconstruction of the Iraqi judicial system. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College, receiving an A.B. magna cum laude in Government and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in 1992. He received his J.D., cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was a Developments/Comments Editor on the Harvard International Law Journal.

Babak Hoghooghi

Babak Hoghooghi is the executive director of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) since the time of its inception in 2007. Prior to joining PAAIA, he was an attorney practicing at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, from 1994 to 2006. As a member of the Energy and Project Finance Group in the firm's Washington D.C. office, Mr. Hoghooghi's transactional practice focused on the development, financing and acquisition of international and domestic power projects. Mr. Hoghooghi earned his J.D. in 1994 at the Georgetown University Law Center. Before entering law school, he received a M.S. degree in Structural Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987 and worked as a licensed professional engineer at the Ralph M. Parsons Company in Pasadena, California for four years.

Houri Khalilian

Dr. Houri Khalilian is a Partner with The Law Offices of Khalilian Sira LLC in Washington, D.C. Dr. Khalilian�s practice includes preparation, prosecution and procurement of patents; providing counsel to pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporate clients toward resolution of intellectual property-related issues, including the planning, development and maintenance of patent portfolios; due diligence investigations in connection with mergers and acquisitions; and preparation of patentability, validity, infringement and freedom to operate opinions. Prior to entering the field of patent law, Dr. Khalilian was a senior research associate at Yale University Department of Internal Medicine, where she conducted research on genetically transformed arthropod�s symbionts with a phage vector construct containing an anti-viral transmission protein. Dr. Khalilian graduated from the University of Maryland with a J.D. in 1998. She received her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Sussex in England.

Ali M. M. Mojdehi

Ali M. M. Mojdehi partner at the San Diego office of the law firm of Baker & McKenzie LLP, and chairs the firm's Financial Restructuring, Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy Practice Group in North America. His practice concentrates on the representation, both in and out of court, of a wide-range of clients, including financial institutions, debtors-in-possession, creditors, bondholders, third party purchasers or investors, creditors' committees, and trustees in varied and numerous bankruptcies, receiverships and workouts across the United States and cross-border insolvencies implicating the laws of multiple jurisdictions. He regularly lectures to bar and lay groups and serves as a panelist on bankruptcy law for the Continuing Legal Education Programs of the University of San Diego School of Law and as Adjunct Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA). Mr. Mojdehi received his J.D. in 1982 at the University of Tulsa, where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi and the Articles Editor (1981-82) for the Tulsa Law Journal. Mr. Mojdehi received his B.A. at the College of William and Mary in 1978.

Hamid Rafatjoo

Hamid R. Rafatjoo is an attorney at Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones where he specializes in insolvency and corporate restructurings, either through an out-of-court workout process or through a bankruptcy filing. In every year since 2007, Mr. Rafatjoo has been named a "Super Lawyer" in a region-wide peer survey, a honor bestowed on only 5% of Southern California attorneys, and he holds an AV Peer Rating, Martindale-Hubbell's highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability. He is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine and received his J.D. in 1995 from Loyola University School of Law.

Sima Sarrafan

Sima Sarrafan is currently the senior attorney for investigations at the Microsoft Corporation in Seattle, Washington. Prior to her work at Microsoft, she was a partner at Yarmuth Wilsdon Calfo PLLC where she represented clients in complex civil and criminal litigation matters. In addition, she served as an Assistant United States Attorney for over 7 years in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and was an Adjunct Professor of law at Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island. Mrs. Sarrafan was also the founder of the Seattle Chapter for IABA and was on the Board of Directors for the Iranian American Cultural Association in Washington, D.C. In 2008, she also served as a pledged delegate for President Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Mrs. Sarrafan is graduate of Vassar College, where she majored in Economics and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with General and Department Honors. Sima earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Soroush Richard Shehabi

Soroush Richard Shehabi is on the Board of Directors for the Iranian Amerian Political Actions Committee (IAPAC) nad recently served as CEO of Washington Life Magazine as well as a Principal in a 70-year-old business-to-business media information service company which he and his partners acquired in 2007. Mr. Shehabi has two decades of experience in media, law, policy and politics, with expertise in energy/environmental security and U.S.-Iran policy. During the latter half of the Clinton Administration, he was recruited by the Department of Justice where he served as a U.S. Trial Attorney for six years. Mr. Shehabi graduated from Harvard University (Class of 1987) where he obtained the support of Professors Joseph Nye and Stanley Hoffmann and the approval of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to establish a new interdisciplinary concentration in International Relations and Environmental Policy, earning High Honors for his thesis on Global Environmental Security. In 1994, Mr. Shehabi earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

The Honorable Ashley Afsaneh Tabaddor

Honorable Asheley Afsaneh Tabaddor is an immigration judge for Los Angeles County, where she serves as one of the youngest judges in one of the most active courts in the nation. Prior to her appointment to the judgeship in 2005, Judge Tabaddor served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles from May 2002 to November 2005. During this period, Judge Tabaddor also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Law School. She served as a trial attorney with the Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C., from September 2000 to May 2002 where she also served as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School. Judge Tabaddor received a B.A., cum laude in 1994 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a J.D. in 1997 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Farzad Tabatabai

Farzad Tabatabai is an attorney at Castle & Associates in Los Angeles, California where his practice primarily focuses on business and construction litigation, having handled cases for a variety of clients, including corporations, general contractors, technology companies, and real estate developers. He also has extensive experience with Errors and Omissions defense, having represented lawyers, accountants, dentists, real-estate brokers and insurance agents. Prior to joining Castle & Associates, Mr. Tabatabai was Senior Counsel with Haight, Brown & Bonesteel, L.L.P. Mr. Tabatabai received his B.A. from the University of California in 1992, and his J.D. in 1995 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.


Articles of Incorporation and By-laws

In January 2008, the IABA Board of Directors amended and restated the IABA Bylaws. The Bylaws, as amended, can be viewed here. The IABA Articles of Incorporation can be viewed here.