Erik Stanley is an assistant professor of law at Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Virginia. He teaches and writes on litigation, church autonomy, and religious liberty issues, and he coaches students on the moot court team.
Stanley is also a partner at Provident Law in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he leads the firm’s church and nonprofit practice. He has more than 20 years of experience handling religious liberty cases and advising religious institutions on various matters, including employment, tax, zoning and land use, and bylaws and policies.
Stanley previously served as senior counsel and the director of the Center for Christian Ministries at Alliance Defending Freedom. He has litigated cases involving churches and ministries across the United States and has argued numerous cases in both trial and appeals courts. He also helped represent clients before the United States Supreme Court in two cases (Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (2017) and McCreary County v. ACLU (2005)).
Stanley has been interviewed by numerous outlets and written many articles on the topics of religious liberty and church autonomy, appearing in The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and World magazine, among others.
Stanley earned his master of divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in 2013. He earned his law degree in 1999 from Temple University School of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree from Asbury College in 1995.
