Overview
Shad Brown spent years as an attorney at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, the legal department within the Internal Revenue Service, before launching Brown & Jensen in 2014. That time inside the agency whose enforcement actions his clients now face gives him a specific perspective: direct knowledge of how IRS Chief Counsel attorneys build their legal positions, what arguments they prioritize, and how they evaluate the cases they decide to litigate. In Arizona’s estate and tax law market, that background is uncommon.
The Law Firm of Brown & Jensen was founded in 2014 by Shad M. Brown and Scott T. Jensen, and in eleven years it has expanded to eight Arizona office locations: Mesa, Tucson, Scottsdale, Chandler, Peoria, Goodyear, Show Low, and Payson. The Goodyear office is located at 14441 West McDowell Road, B102 Suite E, Goodyear, AZ 85395, and can be reached at (623) 232-0674. The firm’s website is www.bncjlaw.com/.
The practice covers estate planning, probate, tax law, and business law.
Practice Areas
Estate Planning: The firm builds comprehensive estate plans that address how assets are protected and transferred, with a specific emphasis on avoiding Arizona’s probate process. Tools include trusts, wills, and related documents customized to each client’s family structure and asset profile. The firm does not use standard-form estate plans; each plan is designed around the specific circumstances of the client it serves. Shad Brown’s tax background means the firm’s estate plans account for the tax dimensions of asset transfers, including gift tax, estate tax, and income tax basis considerations.
Probate: When Arizona probate is unavoidable, the firm provides full representation through the process. Arizona probate involves identifying and valuing assets, providing notice to creditors and beneficiaries, addressing outstanding debts and taxes, and distributing assets under court supervision. The firm represents both personal representatives and beneficiaries in probate proceedings.
Tax Law: Shad Brown’s J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation, combined with his IRS Office of Chief Counsel experience, form the basis of the firm’s tax law practice. The firm develops custom tax plans for clients, with Brown’s stated goal being to save clients thousands of dollars. His insider knowledge of IRS legal positioning is a practical asset in tax controversy: he can anticipate the IRS’s arguments before they are made and structure his clients’ cases accordingly. The tax practice spans individual and business tax planning and controversy.
Business Law: Scott Jensen leads the business law practice. Before practicing law, Jensen worked with Fortune 500 companies, an experience that provides exposure to large-scale corporate operations, structures, and decision-making. His business law practice advises clients on startup formation, business acquisition and sale, management and operational counsel, and growth strategy. The pre-law Fortune 500 background means Jensen can engage with business clients on practical business terms alongside the legal framework.
Attorney Profiles
Shad M. Brown (Founding Partner)
Shad Brown holds a J.D. and an LL.M. in Taxation. Prior to founding Brown & Jensen in 2014, he served as an attorney at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, the legal department within the Internal Revenue Service responsible for providing legal advice to the IRS and representing the agency in litigation. This role gave him direct experience with how the IRS develops its legal positions in tax disputes, what factual and legal arguments the agency pursues, and how it evaluates the merits of cases it takes to litigation. In private practice, this background informs how he prepares and presents tax matters on behalf of clients who are in dispute with the IRS.
Scott T. Jensen (Founding Partner)
Scott Jensen is an estate planning, trust, and probate attorney who has advised hundreds of clients throughout his career. Before law, he worked with Fortune 500 companies, an experience that shaped his understanding of business operations at scale. He now advises companies at every stage from startup through sale and works with individuals and families on estate planning and probate matters. When clients contact the firm for a consultation, they connect with an experienced attorney focused on their specific area of need, rather than being routed through intake staff.
Location and Service Area
The firm’s primary headquarters is in Mesa, Arizona. Additional offices serve Tucson, Scottsdale, Chandler, Peoria, Goodyear, Payson, and Show Low. The Goodyear office is at 14441 West McDowell Road, B102 Suite E, Goodyear, AZ 85395, reachable at (623) 232-0674. The firm’s website is www.bncjlaw.com/. The eight-office structure across Arizona allows the firm to serve clients throughout the state without requiring long drives to a single metropolitan location.
Client Focus
The firm serves Arizona residents and businesses across a wide geographic range, given its eight office locations. Estate planning and probate clients include individuals and families who need succession planning, as well as those who are navigating a loved one’s estate. Tax clients include individuals and businesses with IRS disputes, tax planning needs, or prior tax issues they need to resolve. Business clients range from startup founders to established business owners preparing for the eventual sale or transition of their companies.
Both founding partners meet directly with clients rather than delegating initial consultations to junior staff. This direct engagement reflects the firm’s stated goal of providing personalized legal counsel at each office location.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the IRS Office of Chief Counsel and why does Shad Brown’s experience there matter?
The IRS Office of Chief Counsel is the legal department of the Internal Revenue Service. Chief Counsel attorneys provide legal advice to IRS personnel, review legal positions the IRS takes in audits and disputes, and represent the IRS in litigation before the U.S. Tax Court and other courts. Shad Brown worked as an attorney in this office before entering private practice. That experience means he has seen tax disputes from the IRS’s perspective: he knows how Chief Counsel attorneys evaluate cases, what arguments they find persuasive, and how they build their legal positions. In private practice, he applies that knowledge when representing clients who are on the receiving end of IRS enforcement.
What does an LL.M. in Taxation add beyond a standard law degree?
A standard J.D. provides the legal training required to practice law and includes some exposure to tax law as one topic among many. An LL.M. in Taxation is an additional graduate law degree earned after the J.D. through a year-long program focused exclusively on the technical depth of tax law: tax code interpretation, tax planning strategies, tax litigation procedures, and the specialized rules that govern different categories of taxpayers and transactions. For clients with significant tax matters, the LL.M. reflects formal engagement with this discipline beyond the J.D. level.
Does the firm handle probate if no estate plan was prepared?
Yes. The firm handles full Arizona probate proceedings for estates where prior planning was not done or was insufficient. Arizona probate involves specific procedural requirements and timelines, and both founding partners have experience guiding personal representatives and beneficiaries through the process.
Can the firm help a small startup as well as an established business?
Yes. Scott Jensen advises clients at every stage of the business lifecycle, from startup formation through growth, management, acquisition, and eventual sale. His Fortune 500 background before law provides context for advising businesses that have grown significantly or that are considering major transactions.
Does the firm have offices outside the Phoenix metropolitan area?
Yes. In addition to Phoenix-area offices in Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Peoria, and Goodyear, the firm operates offices in Tucson, Payson, and Show Low. This geographic spread allows the firm to serve clients throughout Arizona, including communities that are not part of the Phoenix or Tucson metropolitan areas.
Closing
The Law Firm of Brown & Jensen was founded in 2014 by two attorneys whose backgrounds before private practice are not the usual starting points for an estate and tax law firm: Shad Brown spent years as an IRS Office of Chief Counsel attorney, and Scott Jensen came to law from work with Fortune 500 companies. Eight office locations across Arizona, direct attorney engagement at each location, and a practice spanning estate planning, probate, tax law, and business law reflect where the firm stands eleven years after its founding. The Goodyear office is at 14441 West McDowell Road, B102 Suite E, Goodyear, AZ 85395, reachable at (623) 232-0674 or at www.bncjlaw.com/.