A 1966 graduate of Crook County High School, Jody Stahancyk (of Stahancyk, Gearing, Rackner & Kent law firm) grew up on a ranch outside of Prineville, played high school basketball (at over six feet she still towers over most people), taught swimming lessons as a lifeguard at the city pool and talked incessantly. "My family always told me I talked a lot, so despite the fact that few women became attorneys in those days, it seemed like a natural direction for me," explained Stahancyk.

She earned a law degree from the University of Oregon Law School in 1973, a year later married John Crawford (a business attorney practicing in Portland) and began her legal practice as a Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney. In 1979 Stahancyk was appointed as the referee (pro-tem judge) for the juvenile court where she served until 1982. She later spent a year as an assistant Oregon attorney general in the consumer protection division.

After taking time off to be at home with her two children, she realized she not only had a knack for talking with more than a little authority but a gift for listening as well. What better qualities could fit a divorce lawyer?

Stahancyk opened her first law firm in downtown Portland in 1986 and has continued to make innovative and creative advances in the area of family law. She has a reputation for being a particularly tenacious divorce attorney and has won several prominent cases. In fact, one Portland publication described her as both a barracuda and a pussycat. She says the barracuda image comes from her refusal to back down when protecting a client. On the other hand, the pussycat describes her normal nature of caring for people and focusing on the children in a family dispute situation.

Stahancyk's success as an attorney comes with one particular drawback that has encouraged her to establish a discreet in-house kitchen complete with gourmet chef. She found that if she dined out with a client, anyone seeing them would automatically assume her companion was getting a divorce. "Our solution was to hire a chef and build a kitchen and dining area in the law office," explained Stahancyk, "which is now somewhat of a trademark for our firm." She has a kitchen set up in both her impressive Portland office on Pioneer Square and her Bend Greenwood office.

Three years ago the "girl from Prineville" decided to celebrate some of her success by returning to Central Oregon and opening a branch law firm. The Bend office, located on NW Greenwood, is managed by partner Joel Kent. Although she still lives in Portland and can usually only spend a couple days a month in the Bend location, her heart has a special place for this side of the mountain. The move has given her more time to spend with her father, Joe Stahancyk, who lives in a large house in downtown Prineville. Each summer the law firm pulls out all the plugs for a western party hosted by Joe Stahancyk at the house and buses several hundred people from Portland for a party and a grand visit to the Crooked River Roundup.

"Our Bend office has matured beautifully," says Stahancyk. "We hoped there would be a place for us in Central Oregon and we have an overwhelming number of people we are providing services to. Joel became a partner based on his leadership of the Bend office and we have plans to expand - our only limitation is the size of our space."

With two full time attorneys, two law clerks and a staff of four, Stahancyk hopes to add a third and possibly fourth attorney to the local office. In addition to Stahancyk, one of her partners, Laura Rackner who owns a home in Sunriver, also comes to Central Oregon several times a month to assist clients. Partner David Gearing is related to the Dodd family of Bend as well as the family of Bend podiatrist Patrick Evoy.

"The most important thing that we have stressed in both of our offices is to do a lot of outreach in the community by volunteering for local projects such as the Boys & Girls Clubs," says Stahancyk. "We are paying back some of the courtesies that people have shown to us. I know that some places see their other branches as satellite offices - but we've tried very hard to see ourselves as people who belong to the Bend community if you're going to be a part of a service industry then you need to be part of the community."

Stahancyk's commanding performance as an effective attorney has earned her a reputation as Oregon's top divorce lawyer - but she insists that Joel Kent is tops in Bend. "I'm going to get jealous pretty soon," she laughed. "Our Bend office has really been very much a natural extension for us. Our clients receive top service in the Bend office - service we are all proud of!"

"The most important thing that we have stressed in both of our offices is to do a lot of outreach in the community...if you're going to be a part of a service industry then you need to be part of the community".

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