Proud Member of

As a law student at the University of Houston Law Center, I was given the opportunity to volunteer as a law instructor in Houston ISD. Unfortunately, the high school students’ description of interactions with lawyers involved firms they could not afford, legal aid they did not qualify for, and language barriers between their parents and effective counsel. That experience led me into teaching law full-time in Austin ISD. There, I established the first high school legal aid clinic, allowing me to both teach and provide free legal support. 

For this work, I was named the Austin ISD High School Teacher of the Year and the Texas Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year. After leaving to complete my Master of Education from Harvard, I returned to Texas and established YJA, providing four-year, paid fellowships for aspiring first-generation lawyers to break down financial barriers to law degrees.

Unfortunately, I am the guy who will ruin your holiday by asking you to sign up for a 5K or triathlon. To make up for the votes I just lost, here is a picture of Captain who welcomed me into his family when I met Erica.

If we are not with Captain, Erica and I are traveling while exploring new cuisines, testing out new recipes at home, playing soccer on our coed team, or putting our Alamo Drafthouse subscription to good use.

Beyond that, I love to spend time with my former students, fellows, and of course my family. Most of my family has emigrated from Iran at this point with my mother's side primarily in Austin and my father's side spread across the globe.