A fourth-generation native of Arizona, Brent was born in Safford in 1939. His paternal great-grandfather founded Thatcher, Arizona. He graduated from Safford High School in 1957, where he lettered in football and track. He pledged Fiji in the fall of 1957 and was initiated in March 1958. While an undergraduate, he served as the Cadet Commander of the R.O.T.C. unit. He was named a Distinguished Military Graduate and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon graduation cum laude in Business and Public Administration.
He was a 1963 cum laude graduate of the UofA Law School where he served as a member of the Arizona Law Review and Chairman of the Law School’s Board of Govenors. From 1964 to 1967, Brent served in a number of assignments with the Judge Advocate General’s Corp of the U. S. Army, leaving military service with the rank of Captain. He entered private law practice in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1973, Brent was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement in the U.S. Treasury Department where he served in various capacities and held various titles. Upon leaving the Treasury Department, he re-entered private practice in Phoenix and for over 25 years represented Arizona’s largest bank, The Valley National Bank of Arizona serving as its primary counsel for real estate, commercial and secured lending, and regulation. Further, he served as one of the primary counsel for the Resolution Trust Corporation in Arizona upon the collapse of the savings and loan industry. He is currently sole counsel for the Gila Water Commissioner.
Brent is a member of the State Bar of Arizona and the Maricopa County Bar Association. He has served in a number of community-based organizations and on the board of directors of several non-profit organizations. Brent has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for over 15 years and Best Lawyers in Phoenix since its inception over 10 years ago.
Both of Brent’s children are graduates of the UofA and the UofA Law School. Brenda is a bankruptcy partner at Mesch, Clark and Rothschild in Tucson. John is a lawyer-lobbyist and partner at LaSota, Peters in Phoenix. Brent’s eldest granddaughter is a UofA student.
Brent is most proud of being a Fiji and has remained close to his Fraternity Brothers, especially his pledge brothers. He says, “I am mighty proud to be a Fiji and I want to be remembered for my dedication to my Fiji Brothers, Upsilon Alpha, and to the ideal of Duty, Honor, Country.”