Ali Kamalzadeh’s legal career has been defined by his desire to seek justice for those in need. Prior to joining Gurney Law, Ali spent eight years working for the Office of the Federal Defender, during and immediately after law school, representing indigent clients. His first four years at the Federal Defender were as an appellate attorney, where he worked tirelessly to fight for his client before the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. As an appellate attorney, he briefed and argued cases before the Eleventh Circuit and obtained reversals, had two sentence commutations granted by the President of the United States, and handled over a dozen post-conviction hearings, securing rare relief for three clients. He later received a promotion to the trial division where he won an acquittal, saving his client from a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years.
Outside of the courtroom, Ali has also dedicated himself to community service. While in Law School, he assisted with foreclosure defense at the Seminole County Bar Association Legal Aid Society, SCBALAS, and successfully negotiated mortgage modifications for clients as a certified legal intern. He also served as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistant, and organized SCBALAS’s first clinic to assist low-income residents to prepare and file their tax returns for free. While working for the Office of the Federal Defender, Ali’s commitment to community service continued, and for six years, he volunteered as co-counsel for the Intensive Re-Entry Program and helped to re-integrate clients, on federal supervision, into the community.
Bar Admissions
• Florida Bar
Court Admissions
• The Supreme Court of the United States
• The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States District Court of the Middle District of Florida
• All Florida State Courts
Organizations, Memberships, AND Community Service
• Academy of Trucking Accident Attorneys (ATAA), Member September 2022 to Present
• Florida Justice Association (FJA), Member March 2022 to Present
• Trial School – Central Florida Chapter, Member 2019 to Present
• Federal Bar Association (FBA) – Central Florida Chapter, Member 2018 to Present
• Orange County Teen Court Advisory Board, Board Member 2018 to Present
• University of Central Florida, College Mentor 2018 to Present
• Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (CFACDL) – Orlando Chapter 2015 to 2022
• Immediate-Past President 2021-22; President 2020-21; Vice President 2019-20; Treasurer 2017-19; Director-at-large 2015-17
• Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL) 2016 to 2022
• Chapter Representative; Long Range Planning Committee; Federal Practice Committee; Membership Development Committee
• Intensive Reentry Program (IRP) – MDFL Orlando Division, Volunteer Co-Counsel 2015 to 2022
• American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Central Chapter, Board Member 2019 to 2020
