About Atoosa Zeinali
Atoosa Zeinali Gelabi built her legal foundation overseas before continuing advanced study in the United States. She completed a bachelor’s degree in law at Elm & Farhang University in 2005, followed by a master’s degree in private law from Shahid Beheshti University in 2008. She then pursued specialized postgraduate work in the U.S., earning an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from Santa Clara University School of Law in 2014 and a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD/PhD) in International Business Law from Golden Gate University School of Law in 2018.
Her career has threaded together practice and teaching. Early on she was admitted to practice in Iran and recorded experience at the Iranian Central Bar Association beginning in 2009. By 2015 she established a private practice under her own name, Atoosa Zeinali Law Offices. She has balanced that practice with academic roles. In 2018 she served on the faculty at Lincoln Law School of San Jose. The following year she joined Santa Clara University School of Law as an adjunct professor of law.
Those dual roles reflect the two themes that run through her work: cross-border commercial law and intellectual property. Her doctoral research at Golden Gate addressed questions that arise when business moves across jurisdictions. Her LL.M. training sharpened an interest in IP issues, from patents and trademarks to licensing arrangements. She also has formal training in private law from earlier studies, which informs her handling of contractual and civil law matters.
Colleagues and students note an analytical style that leans on doctrinal rigor and comparative perspectives. Her academic teaching draws on practical examples from her own casework and consulting. In classroom settings she has taught courses that touch on business law and intellectual property, translating complex rules into concrete problems for students to solve.
In practice she has advised clients on transactional matters and on intellectual property strategy. That work has included drafting agreements, advising on licensing and IP protection, and addressing contractual disputes that have an international element. She has maintained a presence in California’s legal community while continuing ties to legal circles tied to her earlier career in Iran.
She continues to divide her time between private practice at Atoosa Zeinali Law Offices and teaching engagements, and her current practice centers on international business transactions and intellectual property matters.
