Joel Thurston - Peoria Family Lawyer Reviews & Ratings

Joel N. Thurston, Mdiv, Esq., is the managing partner at Keist Thurston O'Brien Law Firm.  He opened a new second office location January 2017 in northwest Peoria.  Mr. Thurston has a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Juris Doctorate from Arizona Summit Law School.  While in law school, Mr. Thurston was the president of the ASLS Christian Legal Society, which is how he met Steven D. Keist, a local member of the Phoenix chapter of CLS.  Joel Thurston is a Religious Studies faculty member at Glendale Community College, where he has taught the religions of the world and religious philosophy for more than 10 years; he is a founding elder of Journey Church in Peoria, Arizona, and an ordained minister.  "If you are looking for a bulldog, that's not me.  Bulldogs might look good in court, but they may not be as effective as you think in getting your case settled and resolved in the most efficient and beneficial manner possible for your situation.  That doesn't mean I am a pushover.  I know when it is appropriate and necessary to be an aggressive advocate, and I am not afraid of man.  The bible says to respect everyone, but fear God alone.  That's how I try to live.". Mr. Thurston has developed outstanding legal skills in the areas of Administrative Law (For example, Arizona Board of Fingerprinting/Arizona Department of Transportation), Adoption, Contracts, Family Law, Debt Negotiation and Settlement, Estate Planning, Employment Law, Business Law, Personal Injury and Criminal Law.  Mr. Thurston has negotiated multi-million dollar settlements and prepared estate plans for estates in excess of $5 million.. Probation. Mr. Thurston is a former probation officer for Maricopa County Adult Probation Department. He taught classes for both officers and offenders, and served on a committee where meetings with probation judges led to meaningful changes for offender sentencing. Mr. Thurston specialized in Intensive Probation Supervision (IPS), which is essentially house arrest and the highest level of felony supervision. Mr. Thurston is particularly glad to assist clients with all aspects of probation, including but not limited to criminal sentencing, pre-sentence report interviews, modifying probation clients off of specialized caseloads, early termination of probation, probation violation/revocation hearings, deleting deferred jail terms, and dealing with unreasonable probation officers. Attractive aspects of probation law are the affordability of the limited scope representation and having a knowledgeable probation attorney on your side, as you walk though a very volatile season of your life.. Mediator. Joel Thurston was certified as a justice court mediator in 2013.  He has successfully mediated dozens of civil disputes in a number of justice courts throughout Maricopa County.  Mr. Thurston enjoys the peacemaking opportunity of being a lawyer.  "When clients meet with me, they are often experiencing a lot of unsettling and painful circumstances.  I seek to be a source of peace and calm in the storm.". Life Verse. My life verse is Luke 4:18-19:. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”. I love how I am able to live out God's call on my life as a lawyer.  I have studied the law my whole life.  I began with God's law, the foundation.  Then, I studied man's laws, which in their best forms reflect God's law.  When I was in college studying theology in the late '90s, I thought it would be awesome to have the heart of a pastor coupled with the mind and reasoning skills of an attorney. If you are looking for an attorney with a pastor's heart, I would like to serve you.  If you want a counselor who provides legal advice founded upon God's universal and timeless principles, then let me guide you through your legal troubles.