About Michael
Michael Ahmadshahi began his professional journey in engineering. He earned a Ph.D. (1988), an M.S. (1986) and a B.S. (1981) in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, after completing an A.S. in Engineering at South Suburban College (1979). He later turned to law and received a J.D. from Western State University College of Law (2001).
The shift from laboratories and research to legal practice did not come overnight. In the late 1980s he worked as a research engineer at the University of California, San Diego. By the early 1990s he was a staff scientist at C.E. Niehoff & Co., applying engineering methods to real-world problems. That technical foundation preceded his move into legal practice in the early 2000s.
He entered private legal practice first as a partner at the Law Offices of Kayhan S. Shakib in 2002 and established AHMADSHAHI LAW OFFICES as principal in 2003. Over the years he has combined technical training and legal education to handle matters where the two intersect. He is admitted to practice in California and before the Ninth Circuit.
Professional affiliations have run alongside his work. He serves on the board of directors for SIMORGH and has been a member of the Orange County Intellectual Property Law Association since 2005. Those memberships align with the type of matters his background supports and reflect ongoing engagement with local and technical legal communities.
His practice has involved tasks common to lawyers who come from technical fields: dissecting technical disclosures, advising on patent-related issues and preparing materials that translate engineering concepts into legal arguments. Colleagues and clients have noted that his engineering degrees — including doctoral-level study — give him a familiarity with technical detail that many legal cases require.
Ahmadshahi maintains offices in Newport Beach, Century City and Beverly Hills. He continues to practice in areas where engineering and law meet, concentrating on intellectual property and patent matters.
