John Stanley

After obtaining his undergraduate degree from the University of San Diego, Mr. Stanley earned his juris doctor degree from Pepperdine Law School where he also received a certificate in dispute resolution from the highly regarded Strauss Institute. He served on the staff of the Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary, and was published in its pages. During his time in law school, he served as an extern for federal district judge Valerie Baker-Fairbank and interned at the United States Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, where he assisted the Division’s legal challenge of a corporate merger. Following law school, he worked in the chambers of Los Angeles Superior Court judge Stuart Rice, giving Mr. Stanley valuable insight into California civil practice and judicial decision making.

Mr. Stanley comes to Callahan & Blaine from a large regional firm’s Irvine office where he defended Fortune 500 companies and other clients in high profile product liability and other matters, often involving coordinated actions across various courts and jurisdictions. He has amassed significant experience in representing individuals, business, and non-profit entities in breach of contract, fiduciary duty, and shareholder derivative actions and high-value injury and death cases. His track records includes consistent favorable resolutions, including dismissals of highly contested cases and favorable settlements mitigating extensive potential exposure.

Some representative examples of Mr. Stanley’s successes include:

• Obtaining summary judgment and, through creative use and enforcement of discovery procedures, recovering attorneys’ fees on behalf of a construction industry client in a high value, multi-plaintiff vehicle collision case. The defense strategy eliminated any liability for the corporate defendant accused of vicarious liability for off the job actions of its employee.
• Defeating summary judgment and obtaining a favorable settlement for a small business client sued by a much larger competitor in a case that could easily have bankrupted the client’s company.
• Employing precisely timed discovery and motion practice to force the plaintiff in a federal breach of contract case to voluntarily dismiss an energy industry client facing significant personal exposure.
• Successfully resolving numerous high profile cases of a sensitive nature on behalf of a large, publicly traded company facing public and regulatory scrutiny.

Mr. Stanley was recently named a 2023 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Star. This accolade reflects his dedication to his craft and the high regard in which he is held by his peers.

Mr. Stanley served as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps from 2005 to 2009, during which he was deployed to Iraq and throughout the Pacific. He brings his sense of duty, discipline, and dedication to his legal work, where he tenaciously advocates for his clients’ interests.