Joy Dracup Stanley

Joy Stanley is one of the preeminent family law attorneys in Los Angeles. For over twenty-five years, Ms. Stanley has dedicated her career to exceeding client expectations with client representation at the highest level. Ms. Stanley is internationally renowned for her child custody expertise in international Hague Convention proceedings, child custody move aways, and custody evaluations. While Ms. Stanley’s reputation is well known as a tough litigator with a high rate of success, she first and foremost focuses her efforts on working with her clients towards settlement to achieve the most efficient and cost effective outcome if at all possible. To this end, many of our cases are resolved in settlement conferences with a team of professionals if necessary to bring the case to a resolution in an effort to avoid costly litigation. Ms. Stanley is well known for her innate ability to bring couples together to resolve their differences with a strong focus on limiting the emotional and financial costs of protracted litigation.

Ms. Stanley received her juris doctorate from Loyola Law School in 1992. She ranked 5th in her class. She received a Bachelors of Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University California San Diego in 1989, graduating cum laude with departmental honors.

During law school, Ms. Stanley interned for the Honorable Richard Denner in the Los Angeles Superior Courts family law division. In 1992, Ms. Stanley was admitted to the California State Bar. She has also been admitted to the US. District Courts Central, the US. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the State of California. Ms. Stanley is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Rotary Club of Los Angeles 45, the Jonathan Club, and the Riviera Country Club.

Today, her focus remains solely on achieving the best interest of her clients and especially their children while preserving the integrity of the family as they navigate through the emotional transitions of divorce.

Bringing together her life experience and her extensive knowledge of the law, Ms. Stanley provides clients with the highest quality of representation and a unique approach to each client’s personal care. Practicing family law exclusively since 1992, Ms. Stanley specializes in complex marital litigation and mediation, with an emphasis on resolution of conflict outside of the courtroom. Utilizing her unique ability to resolve differences, she has assisted hundreds of couples in reaching an agreement on seemingly insurmountable issues, saving clients substantial litigation expense. Ms. Stanley has represented a wide range of clientele, including many high-profile clients, domestic partners, same-sex marriages, and clients facing Hague international custody disputes. She is well versed in alcohol and substance abuse issues and other addiction issues as they relate to custody matters and misappropriation of community funds.

Ms. Stanley is dedicated to supporting local underserved children and their families. She also supports many youth mentoring programs in the Los Angeles area. She avidly supports the City of Hope, in their advancement of cancer research, and many homeless shelters and other local Los Angeles service organizations. She is a long-time supporter of several non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities, such as the Clare Foundation and Friendly House. For the past 30 years, Ms. Stanley has dedicated substantial time and resources to helping teenagers and young adults recover from seemingly hopeless issues. Her firm represents Pro bono clients in a continued effort to support the Los Angeles community.