In 1992, Warren Varley opened a solo law practice in Stuart and has been providing legal services to the community ever since. His initial office was a room rented from Claudia Shepherd in what is now the LC Clinic building next to Lawbaugh Park. Claudia was more than a landlord and office-mate, she was a valuable mentor and friend. His first employee was Sheryl Christensen and they worked at an old oak double desk acquired from the Dallas County Courthouse. In 1996, Warren moved the law firm into a building across from the post office that he and his wife, Karen Varley, had purchased from Eugene Jirak. Also in 1996, Joyce (Mrs. Walt) Hick joined the firm as legal secretary, probate clerk, tax preparer, and office manager. Joyce had worked for the W. Dean Moore law office in Stuart since the early 1960's up until the sale of his practice in 1996. In addition, Joyce had obtained her real estate broker's license and managed a thriving real estate business known as Stuart Real Estate. Joyce's contribution to the success of Varley Law Office cannot be overstated! She was hard-working and dedicated to providing the best possible service to each client. Other valued employees of the firm, past and present, include Mary Skellenger Moffitt, Margaret Tiernan, Alberta Jirak, Carmen Hawley, Lesley Kerns-Wilson, Riley Schoen, Karli Rumley, Truman Wiles, Christine Baber, Jansen Van Daalwyk, Nicolas Aguero, Trevor Heimbaugh, Juanita Gilman, and Tyler McKibbin.
On Epiphany (Jan. 6) 2004, tragedy struck Varley Law Office when a fire destroyed the three adjoining buildings that included the firm. For a year and a half, the law office was located in the oldest downtown building at 100 NE Second ST, while the West Central Valley high school tech class built a new office at its present location, 201 NE Second Street.
In 2016, the firm expanded exponentially as Karen Varley joined the firm as a partner, and Varley Law Office PLC was organized. Karen had been in the legal profession for a considerable part of her life, starting as a legal secretary while in high school in Waukon, Iowa, and working for two years as a court reporter before obtaining degrees in agronomy and plant breeding from Iowa State and Cornell Universities. Eighteen years in the legal department at DuPont/Pioneer Hi-Bred International culminated in her getting a law degree from Drake University in May 2015.
Throughout its thirty years, Varley Law Office has provided a variety of legal services to the community, including business organization, estate planning, real estate transactions, tax planning and tax return preparation, and probate administration. Projects of particular note that the firm was involved in include the restoration of the Historic Saints Center and the Rock Island Railroad Depot; the organization and construction of 13 locally-owned and operated wind-energy turbines across Adair, Cass, and Taylor Counties; and a variety of development projects in conjunction with Stuart Enterprise for Economic Development, Inc.
Prior to opening his firm in Stuart, Warren worked at David L. Jungmann, PC, in Greenfield, IA, and Davis, Hockenberg, Wine, Brown, Koehn & Shors in Des Moines. In addition, he clerked for 7 rural district court judges in central Iowa for one year and for a New York appellate division justice in Cortland, New York for two years. Warren obtained his bachelors degree in agronomy from Iowa State University and his law degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Karen and Warren Varley thank everyone who helped with or attended their open house November 10. At the celebration, Karen presented Warren with a plaque denoting that he attained "Very High" ratings in both legal ability and ethical standards from the Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory. Martindale-Hubbell is a legal directory publisher founded in 1868 that rates attorneys based upon peer review. Warren's rating puts him in the top 10% of attorneys nationwide according to the American Registry.
