About the Attorney

Offering exclusive representation for discerning clients throughout California, New York, and Massachusetts, Attorney Ali Shahrestani accepts individual, corporate, high-stakes, and high-conflict litigation, negotiation, mediation, and transactional matters.

Serving bicoastal and international clientele, Mr. Shahrestani is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and Farsi. He offers clients his passionate advocacy, clear and consistent communications, and true professionalism.

In his free time, Mr. Shahrestani loves studying nature, motorcycling, skiing, firearms targetry, archery, yoga, cooking, and playing music. He brings this same creativity, integrity, and intensity to his practice as an attorney.

To learn more about Mr. Shahrestani, you can read the questions and answers at the bottom of this page, and you can review his sample case history, publications, television interviews, and testimonials via the links on this site.

Mr. Shahrestani’s practice areas include:

Divorce & Custody Law

Child Custody, Parenting Agreements, Community Property, Collaborative Divorce, High Conflict Divorce, Restraining Orders, Fathers’ Rights, LGTBQx Divorce, Abductions, Contempt of Court, Family Law Sanctions.

Education Law

Academic Discipline, Suspensions, Expulsion, Plagiarism, Special Education, Grade Disputes, Teacher Contracts, Employment Law, School Negligence, Bullying, School Representation, Academic Freedom, related Civil Rights.

Business & Contract Law

Breach of Contract, Fraud, Unfair Business Practices, Negligence, Intellectual Property, Compliance, Partnerships, Employment, Investments, Tech Startups, Small Business Law, Contracts, Commercial Real Estate.

Exclusive Legal
Representation for
Discerning Clients

A recipient of multiple awards, seen on Fox and ABC News and in the SF Chronicle, LA Times and other newspapers, and honored by dozens of outstanding client testimonials, Attorney Ali Shahrestani offers intense and affordable legal representation, consistent communications, and professional advocacy.

Questions & Answers

Question 1

Why did you become a lawyer?

As the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his 1963 letter from Birmingham Jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Justice and fairness are extremely important to me, having often seen and experienced the opposite in our world. Prior to working as an attorney, I worked as a teacher in the arts and humanities at the secondary school and college level dedicated to social justice. For my efforts, I was awarded the California Governor’s Teaching Fellowship. I became a lawyer in order to more aggressively tackle the same injustices I perceived, discussed, and fought as a teacher. As a social justice activist attorney, my primary tool is my ability to communicate. To that end, I regularly write articles related to civil and human rights, criminal justice, and equality under the law. I speak out on local, state, and federal issues by writing to politicians, community leaders, and local shareholders in order to motivate positive changes. Of course, I also use my skills as an attorney litigator to support social justice goals. I only accept cases for clients and pursue legal positions that run parallel to my ethical beliefs. For low income clients, I have always offered deeply discounted hourly rates for legal representation. Over the years, I have volunteered hundreds of hours working with non-profit environmental justice and conservation law firms and an educational and criminal justice non-profit organization, as well as answering legal questions for low income and diverse populations online and in community gatherings. Of course, in my personal life, I support sustainable and socially conscious businesses as much as practicable, am dedicated to organic and local agriculture, and consistently vote for progressive candidates and referenda. I have a passionate sense of righteous indignation about the abuses of power, corruption, ignorance, and indifference that occur at all levels, public and private, in our society. I want to right these wrongs, whether that means defending the wrongly accused, helping wrong-doers see the error of their ways, or bringing peaceful resolutions to turgid conflicts. I always prefer amicable negotiations, as I think they make the world a better place. For those who are considering a career in the law, here’s an article I wrote that you might want to read!

Question 2

Why have you chosen to be a solo practitioner?

By working for myself, I am able to choose clients and cases that I believe in rather than focusing on the bottom-line, and I can be sure that such cases are handled the right way from begin to end. I do not employ any staff because I maintain a caseload that is small enough so that I can devote my best efforts and attention to each client, providing intense and customized legal representation. By not having additional staff, I can also help to reduce the multiple costs and fees that other law firms pass onto their clients, such as hourly rates for paralegals, law clerks, and associates plus the lead attorney’s hourly rate for supervising, reviewing, and/or fixing others’ work product. I believe that clients deserve the best and are entitled to only the best lawyer’s hands and mind on their cases. By practicing as a solo attorney, I try to deliver the highest level of work product while trying to efficiently use client funds.