Jim M
anley is the state legal policy deputy director at Pacific Legal Foundation, where he fights to enact PLF’s innovative legislative solutions in statehouses across the nation. He previously served as an attorney manager and litigator at PLF, suing the government in defense of free speech and economic opportunity. Freedom and happiness are inseparable—Jim has dedicated his career to protecting and expanding both through strategic litigation and policymaking.
Jim joined PLF in 2018 to advance the fight for liberty with the most impactful public interest law firm litigating today. Before joining PLF, he litigated at the Goldwater Institute and Mountain States Legal Foundation.
A native of Michigan, he followed his future wife to Arizona State University, where he graduated with a double major in political science and journalism. He earned his J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School, where he was an associate editor of the law review and president of the Federalist Society.