Tanaz Salehi, Esq.
Tanaz Salehi is one of Salehi Boyer Lavigne Lombana, P.A.’s Founders and serves as its Managing Shareholder. Her practice primarily includes Property and Casualty claims in state and federal court, including First-Party Insurance claims, Coverage Recommendations for Commercial, Surplus, and State Insurance Carriers, Commercial Contract Drafting, Commercial Contract Negotiations, Commercial Disputes, and Third-Party Liability claims. She has handled hundreds of Examinations Under Oath for various insurance carriers, negotiated large-scale losses for residential and commercial claims, overseen and managed hundreds of commercial and surplus lines appraisal matters, and provided private consultation to numerous insurance companies related to defense of first party insurance claims.
Tanaz has also strategized and drafted construction agreements for various Florida State contractors, who were looking to avoid Assignments of Benefits after the July 1, 2019 AOB Legislation, with agreements reinforcing a renewed goal to work cooperatively with Florida Insurance Companies.
Prior to founding Salehi Boyer Lavigne Lombana, P.A. Tanaz was a Profit Sharing Partner and Business Unit Leader of a large practice group at a statewide, full service law firm, where she focused on insurance defense, general liability, federal and state employment law, fraud litigation, corporate civil matters, and, First-Party claims throughout Florida. Tanaz has extensive experience litigating property insurance claims, representing property insurance companies on cases ranging from sinkholes, hurricanes, pipe leaks, drain line failures, fire and water damage, bad faith defense, fraud, Third Party Insurance Defense, vandalism and burglary.
Tanaz also has extensive experience in the realm of personal injury defense, including Construction Defect Litigation representing small and large corporate entities against claims involving negligent security, wrongful death, slip, trip, and fall liability, Dram Shop Act liability, and automobile injury liability. She has obtained large money judgments via Motions for Fraud upon the Court and Orders granting dispositive motions through motions for summary judgment and motions under Florida Statute Section 57.105.
Tanaz’s experience litigating federal and state cases has led to numerous victories, including successful motions for summary judgment in federal and state court, as well as voluntary dismissals with prejudice. Her experience also includes defense of corporate entities in cases involving wrongful retaliation, employee theft, discrimination, financial irregularities, ethical violations, harassment, whistle blower claims, wage and hour disputes, director/shareholder disputes, and pension dispute cases.
She was featured in Attorney At Law Magazine for the issue “2020 Women in Law” and featured as a guest speaker on Florida Insurance Roundup with Lisa Miller and Mohammad Sherif, for the episode entitled “The Alternative AOB.” She has been a panel speaker at the Windstorm Conference in 2015, 2016, and 2018 relating to a variety of topics from Insurable interests, rights of the deceased to insurance benefits, the evolution of Assignments of Benefits, and Blockchain in the realm of insurance adjusting. She has also presented for the Florida Bar on the topic of Automobile Claims and at the Eastern Claims Conference in Boston regarding technology and claims handling.
Tanaz Salehi is an alumni of the University of Florida with a degree in Philosophy, with a focus on Logic and Ancient Greek, and minor in Criminology. She is licensed to practice law in Florida and California. Tanaz is fluent in Farsi and proficient in Turkish. Tanaz has also served as a Lecturer and Adjunct Professor at the State University of New York, teaching classes on Communications and Public Speaking. Tanaz is also a Certified Water Damage Restoration Technician, accredited by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC).
An avid volunteer, Tanaz was on the Board of Directors for Iranian American Foundation, Iranian Cultural Society, and works with Miami Bridge, StandUP for Kids, United Way, and proudly served as pro bono legal counsel and fundraising chair for Americans for Immigrant Justice.
Past Spotlights
Khodadad “Ko” Sharif, Esq.
Mr. Sharif has been an active member of the State Bar of California since June 1997, practicing law in both the State and the Federal Courts, and has handled many civil, criminal, and family law cases. He is an experienced trial lawyer, having litigated and defended many civil matters, including felony criminal jury trials and numerous sophisticated family law disputes. To better serve his community, Mr. Sharif serves as a Fee Arbitrator with the San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA) and has successfully arbitrated many fee disputes. He is currently serving his last year of a three-year term as a Director on the Board of Directors at the SDCBA, having held various leadership positions within that organization, including the Chair position of its current Membership Committee and the past Chair of the Public Positions Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Lawyers Club of San Diego and the American Inns of Court, Louis M. Welsh Inn, and a proud member of the Iranian-American Bar Association (IABA), as well as a lifetime member of Delta Theta Phi and having served as its past Marshal of the Supreme Senate. As an active member of the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion at the SDCBA and its Anti-Racism subcommittee, Mr. Sharif advocates for inclusion and diversity within the community as his core principles. He supports the legal community in general by volunteering his time. He is also a volunteer, appointed by the San Diego Superior Court to serve as a temporary judge (Judge pro tem), adjudicating Traffic Court trials and Small Claims hearings since 2007.
For several years, the love of teaching has taken Mr. Sharif to teach the Business Law-140 course at the local community college, Southwestern College. At the same time, as an adjunct professor, Mr. Sharif was asked and has served as the Grievance Chair for the college, serving its faculty union. Currently, Mr. Sharif is helping with the Jaguar Justice Informative Legal Clinic at Southwestern College, Chula Vista, which provides internship opportunities to the students enrolled in paralegal studies at the college. Further community involvements have taken Mr. Sharif from coaching soccer at AYSO to coaching the high school Mock Trial team at a local high school.
A graduate of University City High School (’87), Mr. Sharif continued his studies in Political Science at San Diego State University, minoring in Philosophy. A graduate of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, his interest in comparative law, took him to summer studies sponsored by his law school at Cambridge University U.K., Gonville and Caius College, and Universidad Autonoma De Baja California. During law school, Mr. Sharif served the students as the elected Vice-President of the Student Bar Association and the Dean of Delta Theta Phi, also serving on various committees to help promote a better environment for the students.
His passion is to fight against injustice, fight for, and promote equality, inclusion, diversity, and fairness.
Kevin Hosn

Kevin Hosn
Kevin Kian Hosn is a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice in Los Angeles. In this capacity, Mr. Hosn counsels and represents approximately 100 state agencies in matters including government law, employment law, and general civil litigation from the initial pleading stage through appeal. An experienced civil litigator, Mr. Hosn has broad experience both defending and prosecuting civil actions. Mr. Hosn has prepared the appellate briefs, presented ral argument, and prevailed in the California Supreme Court and four of the six California Courts of Appeal.
Prior to joining the California Department of Justice, Mr. Hosn worked as a Trial Attorney at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. At the Justice Department, Mr. Hosn investigated and litigated federal civil rights claims against local and state governments in approximately thirty federal districts. The national scope of this practice afforded Mr. Hosn the unique opportunity to interact with, and learn from, various individuals in small communities in the Midwest and the South. Prior to pursuing a career in the public sector, he worked as an associate attorney in civil litigation firms in Southern California, as an in-house attorney in the legal department of a large corporation, and as a judicial extern to two bankruptcy judges. The early exposure to public service planted the seed for his career path.
When asked about his decision to pursue public service, Mr. Hosn responded: “Over the years I have found government work to be quite rewarding. I have noticed that serving the public often captures the essence of an attorney’s role in society. I believe that law schools and bar associations should actively encourage law students and attorneys to explore careers in public service.”
Mr. Hosn is an advisor to the California Lawyers Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section, where he previously served a three-year term as a member of its Executive Committee.Mr. Hosn is the Executive Editor and a former Editor-in-Chief of the California Labor & Employment Law Review. He is also a contributing author to the California Public Sector Employment Law, a LexisNexis publication.
Mr. Hosn emigrated from Iran at a young age. He is fluent in Farsi and a member of the Iranian American Bar Association – Orange County. Mr. Hosn obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California at Irvine in 1995. He graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1998 and was admitted to the California State Bar later that year.
Meenoo Chahbazi

Meenoo Chahbazi
Attorney Meenoo Chahbazi is the Founding Attorney at Chahbazi Law PLLC. For over 14 years, Ms. Chahbazi has dedicated her career to seeking justice and relief for employees who have faced discrimination, retaliation, and other violations of their rights. Ms. Chahbazi currently litigates cases in California and Arizona on behalf of employees with a wide range of claims including discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, denial of hard-earned wages and benefits, and whistleblower claims. Agraduate of Harvard University and a former Trial Attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Ms. Chahbazi harnesses her extensive experience and passion for employment equality in her representation of clients. Both at the EEOC and in private practice, Ms. Chahbazi has worked on a number of class action cases and she is also currently working on class action cases. Ms. Chahbazi strives to help her clients hold bad actors accountable so that they can move forward with their lives.
Hon. Mojgan Cohanim Lancman

Mojgan Cohanim Lancman
Mojgan Cohanim Lancman came to New York from Iran as a young girl in 1979. She attended Queens College of the City University of New York and graduated from New York Law School in 1994.
She was elected in 2014 to serve as a Judge of the Civil Court of the City of New York, making her the first Iranian born judge elected in New York State. Three years later, Judge Lancman was designated an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts. The Supreme Court is a court of general jurisdiction and its docket includes matrimonial, medical malpractice, product liability, labor law, general tort, real property and commercial matters. Additionally, Judge Lancman is designated an Accessible Magistrate presiding over criminal arraignment parts on non-regular business hours.
Judge Lancman began her career in law at a general practice firm on Long Island, New York where she was responsible for commercial transactions, matrimonial actions and a variety of civil litigation. Judge Lancman later joined the New York City Comptroller’s Office, representing the Comptroller in tort claims brought against the City of New York.
Judge Lancman’s career in the courts began in 2003 as a Court Attorney in the New York City Civil Court, where she assisted judges in managing the court’s docket, overseeing settlement conferences and drafting opinions and research memoranda on a wide variety of litigation and trial matters, including consumer transactions, medical provider no-fault payment disputes, commercial litigation and tort actions. She also served independently as a Small Claims Court arbitrator.
In 2005, Judge Lancman began a new position as a Principal Law Clerk in the Supreme Court, Queens County. There she was responsible for assisting her assigned judge in all aspects of conducting trials, including researching questions of law and drafting decisions, jury charges and verdict sheets.
Judge Lancman served as a Referee in the Supreme Court, Queens County, in 2014, presiding in a quasi-judicial capacity in the centralized court part where virtually all civil motions were made. There she was responsible for conducting conferences with counsel, facilitating the resolution of motions and drafting decisions on motions not resolved by the parties.
Judge Lancman currently serves as the Chair of the Brandeis Bar Association and Treasurer of the NYC Civil Court Judges Association. She is a member of the Iranian-American Bar Association-New York, having previously served on the Mentoring Committee and helped organize the annual Nowruz Dinner; the Queens County Bar Association; the Queens County Women’s Bar Association; and Yashar – the Judge’s and Lawyer’s Chapter of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America.
Commissioner Bitta Mostofi

Bitta Mostofi
As Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), Bitta Mostofi has worked tirelessly to make New York City a more just and accessible place for immigrant families. At a time when anti-immigrant sentiments drive federal policy, Bitta envisions a New York where immigrants thrive and realize their fullest potential. Bitta’s robust, strategic coordination of policy, outreach, communications, and programs have empowered communities to work alongside MOIA in advocating for equity, resources, and justice.
Among her achievements in public service, Bitta led the campaign to bring IDNYC to more than 1.3 million people. This groundbreaking initiative broadened access to government-issued identification and services, and deepened immigrant communities’ sense of belonging in our city.
Under Bitta’s leadership as Commissioner, MOIA has championed health care for all and collaborated with NYC Health and Hospitals on NYC Care, a major initiative to ensure that all New Yorkers—regardless of immigration status or ability to pay—can access quality, affordable healthcare in New York City. As Bitta deepened civic engagement with immigrant communities, she directed the launch of Know Your Rights education in workplaces and communities, as well as poll-site interpretation services for limited English proficient New Yorkers and an effort to adopt poll-site interpretation services into New York City’s charter.
When the federal administration sought to separate immigrant children from their parents, escalate immigration enforcement efforts, and attack Dreamers, Bitta led the City’s aggressive response to combat these egregious policies through litigation against the public charge rule, the launch of rapid response legal and outreach support to address immigration enforcement, and the fight to defend DACA at the federal level.
Prior to MOIA, Bitta served as a Senior Staff Attorney at Safe Horizon, where she represented immigrant crime victims, asylees, and families in their cases before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, while also leading Safe Horizon’s advocacy campaigns at local and federal levels. Bitta continues to amplify public awareness of global human rights injustices, particularly the plight of refugees from Iran and Iraq, through community organizing and advocacy.
After receiving her law degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Bitta joined the Council on American Islamic Relations where she spearheaded legal advocacy efforts for Muslim and Middle Eastern communities who had suffered from discriminatory impacts of post-9/11 policies while pursuing citizenship.
A proud daughter of Iranian immigrants, Bitta became passionate about community organizing and service from a young age. An early anti-war organizer and human rights advocate, Bitta believes that the struggle for justice must center the needs and voices of our communities. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn.
Bitta is the 2019 winner of the Arab American Association of New York’s Get the Job Done Award, the recipient of the Beacon Award presented by the Ellis Island Honors Society and The American Immigrant Society, and the Public Service Award from the Iranian American Bar Association-NY Chapter. Bitta received a New York Emmy Award for her role in producing Rolando’s Rights, a video for MOIA’s We Speak NYC English learning program about a group of workers who learn about and work together to assert and claim their worker rights. Under Bitta’s leadership, MOIA, in collaboration with Better World Advertising, received the 2015 Communicator Award in Public Advertising for the IDNYC marketing campaign.
Erich Ferrari

Erich Ferrari
As the Founder and Principal Attorney of Ferrari & Associates, Erich Ferrari represents U.S. and foreign corporations, financial institutions, exporters, insurers, as well as private individuals in trade compliance, regulatory licensing matters, and federal investigations and prosecutions. He frequently represents clients before the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and in federal courts around the country. With over 13 years of experience in national security law, exports control, and U.S. economic sanctions, he counsels across industry sectors representing parties in a wide range of matters from ensuring compliance to defending against federal prosecutions and pursuing federal appeals.
Mr. Ferrari’s representations before OFAC frequently involve matters involving the Iran, Ukraine-/Russia- related, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Counter-Terrorism, and the Counter Narcotics sanctions programs. As part of these representations, he has worked to have names removed from OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), responded to OFAC administrative subpoenas issued during the course of an OFAC investigation, procured OFAC specific licenses to engage in transactions prohibited by OFAC, drafted OFAC voluntary self-disclosures, developed and implemented OFAC compliance programs for financial institutions and multi-national companies, and provided general counseling on OFAC related matters to a variety of clients.
Mr. Ferrari has served as lead trial counsel on a number of complex federal criminal matters. He is a seasoned litigator that has obtained mistrials and acquittals for his clients in various matters including prosecutions for smuggling, and International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) based charges. He has also successfully handled money laundering cases, espionage cases, economic sanctions criminal cases, and federal criminal appeals. Mr. Ferrari’s is also known for his numerous lawsuits against OFAC arising from blocking both of assets, as well as those targeting parties under various sanctions authorities. He has also represented clients in other litigation including, for instance, federal civil forfeiture proceedings. These representations have occurred in various courts across the United States and involved both U.S. and international clientele.
Mr. Ferrari actively writes on OFAC-administered trade sanctions on his blog at www.sanctionlaw.com, as well as for publication. In addition, he is often called upon by media outlets to speak on U.S. trade sanctions issues and has been interviewed on OFAC-related issues by CNN, The New York Times, The Washington, Post, Forbes Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Ferrari was formerly the National President of the Iranian-American Bar Association (“IABA”) and remains active with the IABA to this day.
Honorable Tamila Ebrahimi Ipema Judge
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO COUNTY

Tamila Ebrahimi Ipema, Judge
The Honorable Tamila Ebrahimi Ipema received her Bachelors’ Degree from Damavand College in Tehran, Iran. She received her Masters’ Degree from the University of Louisville, and her J.D. degree from Brandeis School of Law in Louisville, Kentucky. She received an LL.M. Degree in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University School of Law.
Judge Ipema has served as a judicial officer for nearly fifteen years. She has experience in family, criminal, and civil. She previously practiced as an immigration defense attorney; as an Assistant District Counsel with the U.S. Department of Justice in immigration matters; as a judicial research attorney; and as a supervising research attorney for the Los Angeles Superior Court. She also served as a California Superior Court Commissioner in both Los Angeles and San Diego Counties prior to her appointment as a Judge to the San Diego Superior Court.
Judge Ipema received the National Association of Women Judge’s (NAWJ) Mattie Belle Davis Award in 2013 for furthering the organization’s mission of “Equal Access to Justice for All.” She received the Lawyers Club of San Diego’s “International Woman of Color” award in 2015, and the “Friend of the Community Award” from Tom Homann LGBTQ Law Association in 2016. She received two “Outstanding Jurist Awards” from the San Diego County Bar Association and from the University of La Verne College of Law in 2016. In 2017, Judge Ipema was awarded the prestigious Alba Witkin Humanitarian Award by the California Judges Association.
Honorable Nahal Iravani-Sani
Nahal Iravani-Sani is a Superior Court Judge presiding in Santa Clara County, California. Prior to joining the bench, she was a Deputy District Attorney for 22 years, representing the People of the State of California through all phases of the criminal justice system, including Violent Felonies, Domestic Violence, Narcotics, Consumer Fraud and Environmental Crimes. She was most recently assigned to the Sexual Assault Unit where she prosecuted rape, child molestation, and human trafficking cases.
Judge Iravani-Sani earned her Bachelor of Arts in 1990 from the University of California, Irvine in Social Ecology, with an emphasis in Criminology and Legal Studies. She earned her Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1993.
Dedicated to education and mentorship, Judge Iravani-Sani instructed Trial Advocacy at Stanford Law School and Santa Clara University School of Law, and coached the award winning Willow Glen High School Mock Trial Team. She enjoys serving as a mentor to the next generation of trial attorneys.
As an immigrant to the United States at a young age, Judge Iravani-Sani is passionate about her role as an ambassador of the Iranian-American community, and giving back to her adopted country. She has served in leadership positions on nonprofit community and professional organizations, including the boards of the Iranian American Bar Association (IABA), Pars Equality Center, and the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA).
Judge Iravani-Sani has been the recipient of the Unity Award by the San Francisco Minority Bar Coalition and the Distinguished Service Award by the Iranian American Bar Association. In 2016, she was the recipient of the Judge’s Night Diversity Award by the Santa Clara County Bar Association for her commitment and leadership in promoting diversity in the legal profession. In 2017, California Governor Edmund G. Brown appointed Hon. Iravani-Sani as the first Iranian-American judge ever to serve on the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
The video of Ms. Iravani-Sani’s investiture can be seen here.
Honorable Saba Sheibani
Judge Saba Sheibani was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to serve in San Diego County Superior Court on March 9, 2018. Ms. Sheibani has been an assistant supervising attorney at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office since 2016, where she has served as a deputy public defender since 2004. She was a law clerk at the San Mateo Private Defender Program in 2004.
Sheibani earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge William S. Dato to the Court of Appeal.
Ms. Sheibani earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. She fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge William S. Dato to the Court of Appeal in February 2017.
Past Spotlights
IABA Board of Advisor: Robert Babayi
IABA Scholarship Winner: Elham Marder
IABA General Member: Salman H. Elmi
IABA Board of Advisor: Dr. Houri Khalilian
IABA Scholarship Winner: Sara Mahdavi
IABA General Member: Samin Adib
IABA Board of Advisor: Bobak Hoghooghi
IABA Scholarship Winner: Mani Ahmadi
IABA General Member: Alen Taksh