About James F.
James F. Stanley began his legal path at Arizona State University, where he earned his Juris Doctor in 1983. He entered practice as the decade turned and moved quickly into public service. His early classroom years gave way to work in Colorado courtrooms and law offices.
His first major post came in Jefferson County, Colorado, where he served as Senior Deputy District Lawyer beginning in 1984. That role placed him in the courthouse on a regular basis and exposed him to a variety of criminal matters. The position provided courtroom experience and day-to-day case handling that shaped his approach to legal work.
After years in public office, Stanley shifted to private practice. In 2013 he opened the Stanley Law Office and took on cases on his own. Opening a small firm allowed him to select the matters he would handle and to move between trial work and advisory roles. He also maintained his ties to professional organizations, remaining active in the Colorado Bar Association and the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association.
Courtroom admission is broad for Stanley. He is admitted to practice in Colorado and before the Tenth Circuit, as well as before the Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Those credentials reflect steady attention to appellate and federal procedure over decades of practice.
Beyond courtroom work, Stanley has taken on teaching roles. He is a certified instructor on the Fifth Amendment at Red Rocks Community College. In that capacity he has led sessions on constitutional protections, evidence, and the rights of individuals under interrogation and indictment. Teaching became one way he put practical experience into a classroom setting.
Colleagues and peers see him as a lawyer who has worked on both sides of criminal cases—first in the prosecutor’s office and later representing clients in private practice. That background informs how he approaches case preparation, witness work, and plea considerations. He combines trial experience from his years in Jefferson County with the procedural perspective required for filings in federal and appellate courts.
Stanley continues to handle cases from his office in Colorado. He maintains memberships in state bar groups and criminal defense circles while teaching constitutional topics at the community college level. He currently practices at Stanley Law Office, handling criminal defense and related matters.
