Sheyna Nicole Burt

I hired Ms. Burt based on an employee referral of someone who used her for a divorce matter, as I am going through the same and needed legal advice on an agreement that I had already put together. I contacted Ms. Burt and initially felt confident that she would provide the professionalism and legal ...expertise needed to finalize my separation agreement and to also file the divorce on my behalf. Initial conversations went well (the selling part), in that she reached out to me to discuss the matter and also discuss some suggestions regarding the separation agreement. Upon concluding our initial phone consultation and me prepaying the engagement fee, she committed to getting the agreement back to me with her notes within a few days. Those few days came and went and I heard nothing from her. I emailed on two occasions after the committed date and did not hear anything back (to also include a request for legal advice and additional verbatim to be added so that I can protect my three children). I called her office number, that continuously went into a prompt saying the user was on the phone. When I finally connected with someone, they stated that she did not work for the law firm answering the phone and that she was in a shared space or was subleasing (still not clear) and that I would not be able to leave a message and to simply call back later to see if I could reach her. When I sent a third email to let her know how I was treated and also to inquire as to why I had not received a response...I received an email essentially blaming the current circumstances with the Coronavirus as the reason I did not hear back, which is understandable, but I responded to her saying simply that I am in the service business as well, and that an email or notification would be valued to state she was either shutting down, would be delaying client responses or something to this nature....especially since I pre-paid and a deadline from her end was missed with no additional correspondence. She did not like this response and basically said that our engagement would be terminating and that "if I had paid any money" there would be per, the agreement a refund...not sure how this person is conducting and or is in business, especially during these times. For starters, I had pre-paid and to not know this and also to handle the matter as she did was extremely unprofessional. I read a previous review after engaging and the negative review is spot on, Ms. Burt is either dipping her hands into too many projects or matters like mine are not a true priority for her to provide a timely and professional service. She wasted nearly 3 weeks of my time and now I have to worry about getting my money back and also finding a competent lawyer to assist me with my legal matter. Very disappointed at how this was handled.

I hired Ms. Burt to represent my sister as she navigated her way through the swarm of local, county, state and federal services that are available to people with mental and intellectual disabilities. This was a decision 30 years in the making, and not one I took lightly. For a variety of reasons, ...mostly family-related, I very quickly decided not to avail myself of her services, and requested a refund of the retainer. To say that it took forever to get a refund would be an understatement. As of the writing of this review, I still have not received said refund, 36 days after a verbal request, and 29 days after an email request. What happened in the intervening 30-odd days is mostly my personal business, but let's just say I felt regularly dismissed, put off, and ultimately accused of being a fraud and manipulative. That doesn't sit well with a UVa graduate. Passionate advocacy. I believe Ms. Burt to be a strong woman, and a beautiful person. I did not get to see her in action on my sister's behalf, but I trust my hunches and the feedback from her colleagues that she is a first-rate advocate. Compassionate client service. From what I saw, no. The 'queen of the universe' approach does not strike me as aligned with an empathetic handling of customer issues in the slightest. If you are looking for brassy, defiant and strident, I guess she'd be the lawyer for you. If you are looking for transactional obfuscation, labyrinthine client protocols and general elusiveness, I guess she's the one for you. If you are looking for someone who has two careers, one as a musician, a violinist, and one as a lawyer, she is the one for you. She claims in "advice giving" columns to be able to do both well. The jury, as they say, is till out on that one. Like I said, she'll do a good job for you, but only on her terms.