Wichita Divorce LLC is the law office of Chan P. Townsley, opened in April 2020.

Chan Townsley graduated Cum Laude from Washburn Law School in 1992. Since that time Chan has represented hundreds of individuals and small businesses in civil litigation and complex civil litigation. Chan has extensive experience in the area of family law, including divorces, paternity actions, and the many issues that arise in child support and child custody. Chan has litigated more than 25 family law trials in just the past four years in Sedgwick and surrounding counties; and has successfully prosecuted appeals of domestic matters in the Kansas Courts of Appeal.

Chan has years of experience preparing pleadings, preparing written and oral discovery, undertaking legal research and all forms of briefing and motion practice, as well as with rules of evidence, use of experts, statutory interpretation, legal ethics and more.

     Before focusing on family law matters, Chan’s practice included a wide range of legal subjects, such as Constitutional rights, contracts, legal and medical professional liability, and a broad variety of tort claims including negligence, fraud, wrongful death, product liability, pharmaceutical liability, and premises liability.

     Chan has litigated in state and federal courts in Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Hawaii, in claims involving individuals and some of the largest corporations in America.  Most recently Chan’s practice has covered the wide-variety of issues that arise in family law cases- the wide variety of circumstances that arise when courts become involved in the most personal and important aspects of your home life.  What could be more important?    

     Chan’s approach to client representation has always been to provide clients with sound guidance and information about the courts, the law, and likely outcomes, allowing clients to understand the process and make well-informed decisions. Every client deserves accurate and complete advice regarding how courts address these real-life issues, including the factors and facts important to the court. Because no attorney can guarantee the outcome of any proceeding, it is important that clients understand what is happening and meaningfully contribute to the process, in order to achieve the best possible outcomes and rulings.

   Chan grew up in Great Bend, Kansas, the town where his great-grandfather and namesake, Chan P. Townsley, settled in 1867.  Before the Civil War, the elder Chan was an attorney and Judge in Missouri.  After the war, he moved to Kansas and started a local newspaper, still in publication today as the Great Bend Tribune.  Chan’s maternal grandfather John Dean served as United States Attorney for the District of Kansas between 1901-1905 under President Theodore Roosevelt.

     Chan grew up outside Great Bend on a farm with his parents and three siblings.  They raised Appaloosa horses, traveling with horses and riders to shows in dozens of states every summer. Chan capped his riding years with the title National Champion Appaloosa Tiny Tots Rider, age 9-11.  As time went by, Chan earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Kansas, and in 1992 Chan earned his Juris Doctor from Washburn University. Chan then started his legal career as Clerk to a Judge seated in the Federal District Court in Wichita.

Chan and his wife Denise Townsley married in 1994, and they have lived and worked in Wichita ever since.  Denise has love for pets and works in the pet industry.  Until recent years, much of their home life involved rescuing and fostering dogs.   When they have time, they now enjoy traveling with their own pets around Kansas to see the different geographic zones, and historical points of interest.

Education and Practice

Articles

Chan P. Townsley, Expert Inductive Reasoning and Frye: Weight, Not Admissibility, 24 Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association 4 (2001).

Mark B. Hutton and Chan P. Townsley, “Recovering Damages in Personal-Injury Cases: Statutes, Issues and Developments,” Wichita Bar Association and CLE Committee Damages Seminar, September 22, 1995.

Channel P. Townsley, Criminal Law: The Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination: The Relationship Between State Regulatory Enforcement Authority and Compelled Testimonial Production [Baltimore City Department of Social Services v. Bouknight, 110 S. Ct. 900 (1990)], 30 Wash. L. J. 174 (1990).