My interest in law began when I was just 8 or 9 years old. It was then, during a family vacation to Hillsboro, Oregon, that I set out to explore my relatives’ neighborhood and wound up at the county courthouse. When my family came to collect me, they found me in the courthouse’s legal library, deeply engrossed in a law book.
Given that most adults don’t find legal writing all that interesting, my trip to the courthouse may not sound like the typical adventure you’d expect from a 9-year-old. Still, from the moment I walked through those aisles upon aisles of leather-bound books, I was hooked. By the time I was in my early teens, I was certain that I was meant to become an attorney.
Finding My Niche
Throughout my time as an undergraduate, graduate, and law student, I took on a number of roles in order to narrow down which areas of the law I wanted to practice. I worked as a graduate teaching assistant, a research assistant, and a newspaper editor and reporter — to name a few. With each role, I gained a deeper understanding of law and how its various fields of practice intertwine. To this day, that ability to look at the whole picture benefits my clients, whether the matter they need help with involves business law, real estate law, civil litigation, estate planning, or probate.
Where others see a problem, I see a puzzle ready to be solved.
Developing My Practice
I graduated from Cornell Law School in 1976, then worked as a law clerk-bailiff for Sandra D. O’Connor, then a Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court. After that, I joined a law firm right here in Phoenix — first as a law clerk, then as an associate attorney — until the firm was dissolved in 1979. It was at that point that I decided to strike out on my own.
Since establishing the Law Office of Brian K. Stanley, PLLC all those years ago, I have steadily worked to develop the most strategically sound and cost-effective solutions that I possibly can on behalf of my clients. In fact, the challenge of continuously improving in this way is one of the aspects of my work that I most enjoy. The way I see it, a good challenge is simply an opportunity to examine things from a new perspective — something that I believe keeps life interesting. As I envision the future of my practice, I look forward to seeing what new obstacles my clients and I will tackle with this mentality.
Bar Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1993
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 1978
- U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 1976
- Arizona, 1976
Education
- J.D., Cornell University (cum laude), 1976
- Graduated within the top 15% of the class
- Henry W. Sackett Scholar, 1974-76
- Member, Board of Editors, Cornell International Law Journal, 1974-76
- First prize at Cornell in the Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition, an annual essay competition in copyright law, 1975
- Graduate study in political science while holding a graduate teaching assistantship at Arizona State University, 1972-73
- LSAT: 770 out of 800, general test; 80 out of 80, writing test.
- B.A. in political science (with Distinction), Arizona State University, 1972
- Pi Sigma Alpha (political science honorary).
Awards & Recognitions
- BV® Distinguished Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® for professionalism and ethics
Notable Work History
- Fellow: Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education
- Formerly with the Phoenix firm of Jones, Hunter & Lerch as of the dissolution of that firm in 1979
- Worked for Sandra Day O’Connor in 1976-1977
