About Zaher
Zaher Fallahi built a career at the intersection of accounting and tax law. He combines decades of accounting practice with courtroom experience in tax matters. The combination shapes how he advises clients and handles disputes.
His formal training spans continents and disciplines. He earned a B.A. in accountancy from Petroleum University of Technology and later completed an M.S. in accountancy and an MBA at Oklahoma City University (M.S. 1978; MBA 1981). He took economics courses at UC Berkeley Extension in 1987 and went on to earn a J.D. from Pacific Coast University School of Law (2004). He has pursued continuing legal education at Harvard Law School, earning certificates from the Program on Negotiation and courses in emotions in negotiations in 2018. More recently he completed a Blockchain Technologies certificate program at MIT in 2021.
Fallahi began his professional life as an auditor and CPA in the early 1980s. Records show a CPA/auditor role at a major government agency in 1982, followed by positions at an international firm in 1987 and a major professional services firm in 1989. He became a principal and practicing CPA in 1992, taking on client engagements that blended tax, financial reporting and compliance work.
He shifted into law practice while keeping his accounting credentials. In 2010 he is listed as principal of his law practice, Zaher Fallahi, Lawyer At Law. He is licensed as a CPA by both the California and District of Columbia boards of accountancy and holds an inactive CPA license from Florida. His admitted jurisdictions include California and the District of Columbia, and he has appeared in federal forums such as the U.S. Tax Court, the Ninth Circuit and the Central District of California.
Memberships and professional activity have been a steady part of his career. He has been a member of the American Institute of CPAs since the 1980s and of the California Board of Accountancy and California Society of CPAs since 1990. He joined the American Bar Association, the Iranian American Bar Association and local bar associations around 2010, and he has served in community roles such as treasurer for a network of Iranian American professionals and director of a community clinic in the 1990s.
Clients and colleagues describe Fallahi as someone who brings both accounting rigor and courtroom poise to tax disputes. His Harvard negotiation coursework informs settlement talks and procedural strategy. His more recent study of blockchain technologies signals an interest in emerging tax and financial issues.
He maintains an office listed at Oppenheimer Tower and practices as a tax lawyer and CPA. He currently focuses on tax controversy, tax litigation and advising clients on complex tax compliance issues.
