Stephen M. Durden is a Senior Associate at Azarvand Tax Law who represents individuals and businesses in federal and state tax matters. He brings four decades of legal experience, spanning legal academia, private practice, and government service, to the firm’s tax controversy and compliance work.

For much of his career, Stephen was a Professor of Law, teaching and writing in constitutional law and statutory interpretation, with a focus on textualism and the close reading of statutes. He now applies that same interpretive discipline to tax practice, including work on questions of statutory meaning in federal tax law such as the circuit split over Section 6751(b) and the scope of the foreign tax credit.

Stephen is licensed to practice law in Florida. He recently served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General of Guam, where he represented the government in litigation and advised its agencies. Earlier, he served for many years in the Office of General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville, ultimately as Chief Assistant, and worked in private practice as well. Over his career, he has handled trial and appellate matters in state and federal courts, producing a number of reported decisions.