Meet Brian Durrell
Anchorage Attorney Specializing in Business Law and Estate Planning
Brian Durrell, an Anchorage attorney specializing in business law and estate planning, grew up in rural Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon Law School in 1980. Brian has spent his entire professional career in practice in Anchorage as a CPA and attorney. He began his career as a CPA with Coopers & Lybrand, specializing in estate and gift tax matters. Brian then practiced law with Bogle & Gates for 14 years, focusing on business law and estate planning. He founded the Durrell Law Group in 1997. Read more about our firm’s history.
Bar Admissions
Alaska (1983)
Oregon (1980)
Education
University of Oregon (J.D., 1980)
Southern Oregon State College (B.S., Business Administration, 1976)
Professional Organizations
Alaska Bar Association, member and past chair of the Estate Planning and Probate Law Section Anchorage Estate Planning Council, member and past president and board member
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), fellow
Community Organizations
Anchorage Library Foundation, past board member and treasurer
Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, past board member, past treasurer and finance committee chair
Q&A with Brian
Why did you choose law as your career path?
Life experiences growing up led me to attend law school. I recall one summer working on a haying contract my family had with a customer. For several weeks, I worked long hours driving a tractor and hauling hay. When the job was finally done, the customer sent a letter claiming the hay was damaged due to rain caused by delay in completing the work. My dad hired a local lawyer to respond to the letter. The response was generally successful and my father eventually got paid most or all he was owed. When the bill came from the lawyer, my father exclaimed in disbelief, “$40 for writing a letter.” My family made very little on the contract. My dad wrote me a check for $25 for my long hours of labor over several weeks of work – I knew that was all he could afford.
Another experience was when zoning first came to Oregon in the 1970s. Our farm and the surrounding area were zoned for exclusive farm use. Previously, many farmers had subdivided and sold land for residential development in our neighborhood outside of Corvallis. A group of farmers banded together to pass the hat and hire a high-priced lawyer to fight – all for naught. It was a costly battle that my parents were ill-equipped to understand, let alone fight. Zoning represented a huge opportunity cost for my family and subjected my parents to being farmers for life. The family farm was finally sold in early 2021 for little more than it was worth before zoning went into effect 50 years earlier.
Life experiences like these convinced me that somebody in my family should be a lawyer. To be able to navigate my life and help my family, I decided to go to law school. Plus, when I moved off the farm to go to college, I loved the life of a student. Law school was a chance to continue the lifestyle and learning for another three years.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
Helping people with their lives and businesses is most important and satisfying. I enjoy hearing clients express how much they appreciate and value my work and dedication to them and their families and businesses.
What do you hope to do for your clients?
Assist them to be successful in business ventures and careers; assist them to plan for their families; assist them to minimize tax exposure and maximize wealth protection; mentor their children/younger generation; and assist in transition of wealth from one generation to the next generation, in a prudent manner sheltered from estate/gift tax and protected from claims of divorcing spouses, creditors and predators.
Have you received any awards or accolades that you are especially proud of?
I have been AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel for 20+ years. Durrell Law Group and I are also listed in the Corporate/Merger & Acquisitions rankings by Chambers USA. I am also listed as a Super Lawyers (2007 – 2021) Top-Rated Estate Planning and Probate Attorney.
What do you love most about Alaska?
Long summer hours.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Hiking – walking on a ridgeline in the Chugach where nothing but wilderness meets the eye.
Is there anything you’d like to share about your family?
My wife Sandy and I got married the summer after I graduated from law school. The following week, we moved to Alaska where we have raised a family and lived for over 40 years. Our daughter, Lindsey, lives in Anchorage and is proud to wear her Xtratufs and “Just a Kid from Alaska” sweatshirt. Our son, Tyler, lives in Seattle working for Seattle’s new NHL franchise, the Seattle Kraken, where he gets to continue to be involved in the sport he most loved growing up in Alaska.
What is one interesting thing you have on your desk?
A flag from Nepal. I spent three weeks trekking in Nepal in 2006 on a trip organized by my oldest sister, who passed away four years later. It was a trip of a lifetime – a chance to spend time with my sister (who was so much older than me, we had not grown up together), to hike and camp for three weeks at high altitude in beautiful countryside, and to see firsthand the poverty and needs of one of the poorest countries in the world. I returned 10 years later to trek in another part of Nepal. During that trip, I also visited two college students and an orphanage, which I had undertaken to financially support after my first trip, in honor of my sister who first drew me to visit Nepal.