The IRS Mailbox Rule – The Effect of USPS’s Recent Changes

Peyman Dadmehr, Esq., is CEO and co-found of ACE FMS, among the state’s leading Financial Management Services (FMS) companies. An FMS is a critical component the services provided by the state’s regional centers under California’s Self-Determination Program. He is a serial entrepreneur with deep experience in the operations of the Self-Determination Program.

Orly Ahrony is the founding attorney of Ahrony Appeals Law Group, where she focuses exclusively on criminal appeals and post-conviction relief throughout California. For more than 16 years, she has built a distinguished reputation representing clients in criminal appeals, state and federal habeas corpus proceedings, parole hearings, resentencing matters, and other post-conviction litigation. Ms. Ahrony also serves as an attorney with the Independent Defense Counsel Office (IDCO).

Ms. Ahrony has successfully secured the reversal of numerous life sentences through California’s criminal justice reforms, obtaining relief under writs of habeas corpus, Penal Code sections 1172.6 and 1172.1, and the California Racial Justice Act. Her extensive appellate experience has established her as a trusted advocate for individuals seeking meaningful post-conviction relief.

In addition to practicing before all California state courts, Ms. Ahrony is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

A recognized legal analyst and commentator, Ms. Ahrony has appeared on KTLA Channel 5 Morning News to discuss California’s bail reform legislation, serves as a legal commentator for the LawNewz Network on high-profile criminal cases, and contributes legal analysis and commentary to the Daily Journal.

Dedicated to educating the next generation of attorneys, Ms. Ahrony has served as a guest lecturer at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, where she has taught students about the criminal appellate process.

Ms. Ahrony earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, magna cum laude, from California State University, Northridge, in 2008, and her Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law in 2011.

Her commitment to justice began well before entering private practice. As an undergraduate, she volunteered with JusticeCorps, assisting low-income litigants as they navigated the court system, and founded a chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International. During law school, she interned with the California Innocence Project, advocating on behalf of wrongfully convicted individuals, and served as a law clerk with the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. These experiences laid the foundation for a career devoted to protecting the rights of individuals seeking justice.

Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Ahrony became the first attorney in Marin County Superior Court to obtain a Certificate of Rehabilitation for a client. She is equally recognized for her unwavering commitment to client communication, ensuring that every client understands the legal process, available options, and the strategy for moving forward. Whether handling a complex appeal, post-conviction petition, or resentencing proceeding, Ms. Ahrony is known for providing skilled advocacy, strategic counsel, and compassionate representation to clients and their families.

John Pavolotsky is a Partner at Stoel Rives LLP, where he co-chairs the firm’s AI, Privacy & Cybersecurity Group and Technology Industry Group, counseling clients on data privacy, information security, AI, and related technology compliance, transactional, and dispute matters. Before joining Stoel Rives, he served as associate general counsel at Roku, Inc. and group counsel at Intel Corporation, and he is a past chair and current advisor of the Intellectual Property Section of the California Lawyers Association. An active teacher and writer in the field, John has taught technology and privacy law at UC Davis and Santa Clara University School of Law, guest lectured at institutions including Stanford and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and regularly contributes to the Stoel Rives Global Privacy & Security Blog and New Matter journal.

Rupa Patel is a Partner at MG+M’s Walnut Creek, California, office working in the firm’s Complex Litigation Practice Group.

Rupa has extensive experience representing/defending developers, general contractors, subcontractors, businesses, private parties and sureties in complex civil litigation, in construction claims, products liability actions and in business and corporate legal disputes. She also has served as general counsel and corporate counsel for several construction businesses.

Rupa earned her J.D. from John F. Kennedy School of Law in 2004. She was admitted to the California State Supreme Court in 2006.

Grace Parrish is an Associate Clinical Professor and Director of Field Placement Department at LMU Loyola Law School. Prior to leaving private practice, Prof. Parrish worked at a civil defense firm where she handled a variety of cases including defending accounting professionals in professional malpractice claims and regulatory actions; defending automobile dealerships in personal injury, consumer actions, and employment actions; defending complex construction defect actions and consumer class actions. She has also prosecuted special education matters on behalf of students and families. 

Prof. Parrish graduated from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 2006. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from University of California, Los Angeles. She was admitted to practice in California in 2006.

Since 2012, Prof. Parrish has taught courses on Electronic Discovery. She also teaches ethics and a simulated litigation course which provides a survey of the litigation skills necessary to prosecute and defend a case from the pleading stage, through discovery and motions, up to, but not including trial.

Courtney McFate is a Member of the Firm at Epstein Becker Green in its Portland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco offices. She represents employers in a broad range of employment matters, from single-plaintiff harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims to complex wage and hour class actions and PAGA litigation, while also advising clients on compliance issues such as hiring, terminations, leaves of absence, reasonable accommodations, pay equity, and workforce reductions. Admitted to practice in Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington, she brings a litigator’s perspective to her counseling work, helping employers across industries like health care, retail, hospitality, and technology navigate risk before it turns into costly disputes.

Angela Dunning is a Partner at Cleary Gottlieb, recognized by Chambers USA in both Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets. Her practice centers on generative AI, intellectual property, appellate litigation, and complex commercial disputes for many of the world’s leading companies, and she has argued successfully before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in numerous published cases. Earlier in her career she clerked for Chief Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California and served as an assistant district attorney in San Francisco; she now teaches trademark law at UC Berkeley School of Law and was named Copyright Practitioner of the Year by Managing IP’s Women in Business awards.

Edward Koellner is a U.S. Registered Patent Attorney and Adjunct Professor of Law at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, where he teaches an advanced summer course examining the intellectual property challenges emerging from aerospace innovation, autonomous flight, and the commercial space economy. He currently serves as Director, Research Contracts & Industry Agreements at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and is the Founder & Principal of OORT Ventures, a firm specializing in space law, IP strategy, and Web3. He holds an LL.M. in Air & Space Law, a JD, an MBA, and an MS in Global Technology & Development, and is a U.S. Navy veteran whose research and publications span space law, cultural heritage, human rights, and emerging technology governance.

Dr. Saj Salam is a Managing Engineer in Exponent’s Civil and Structural Engineering practice, based in Irvine, California. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. in Data Science from The University of Texas at Austin, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in California, Illinois, and Texas. Dr. Salam specializes in forensic geotechnical engineering, construction litigation, and computational geomechanics, with expertise in earth dams, slopes, retaining structures, foundations, and the performance of civil infrastructure under natural and construction-related hazards. His work includes failure investigations, risk assessments, and the evaluation of engineering issues arising from design, construction, and site conditions, supporting clients through litigation, arbitration, mediation, and proactive risk management.

Dr. Jeffrey Hunt, Ph.D., P.E., is a Principal Engineer at Exponent specializing in civil and structural engineering, with expertise in root-cause failure investigations and expert witness services for construction and design disputes. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley and is a licensed Professional Engineer in eight states, having led investigations into structural failures involving buildings, bridges, airports, and industrial facilities damaged by earthquakes, fire, wind, and other hazards worldwide. An active member of the earthquake engineering research community, Dr. Hunt has conducted post-disaster damage assessments following major seismic events, including the 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquake sequence and the 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquakes.