Sydney S. Stuart

When I posted my first review of Ms Stuart, there was only one more review at the time. It was 'luke warm'. Mine was a great deal different. After coming back to AVVO and reading these glowing reviews of positive feedback, I felt compelled to follow up. There are several reasons for this letter, but ...I will touch on my mediation, that in the state of Texas, everyone is required to do before proceeding to court. I went thru a 9 hour mediation with Magistrate Judge Paul Davis as the mediator. Make sure you do not get this man as a 'chosen' mediator. I can not remember an entire sentence Ms Stuart said in his presence, not ONE sentence, as shuttle mediation was used. I was harassed, insulted, belittled and screamed at by the Judge and my attorney said nothing to defend me, while he was in the room. Six little words would have saved my financial life and the hours of therapy I am paying for now. The physiologist says I have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Ms Stuart could have even said the 6 words with Davis out of the room. END THIS MEDIATION. SELL IT ALL. But, I DID NOT get the advice I was paying for. I was intimidated by Judge Paul Davis, given misinformation and lead to believe I did not have a case that should go to trial. Nothing could have been further from the truth. THEN, I find out that Judge Davis, STILL, sits on the divorce court bench, while other Judges can not be there..I said to myself. THAT explains Ms Stuarts lack of help during 9 hours of intimidation and belittlement. SHE was worried about herself, and drawing Davis in court one day. Him remembering her from my mediation..spoiling his record. I was told by a Law Professor that teaches Judicial ethics that I should complain to the Texas Judicial Board of Ethics. I did so, and explained how the Judge came back in the room on one occurrence and after I objected that the opposition had just subtracted what was my property, before the marriage, from a grotesquely over rated summation of my failed business, that it was unfair…Magistrate Judge Paul Davis screams at me from across the table, waving the mediation papers at me at chest height and says "you do not go to court arguing the value of a business"."this is your best day in court"..I was appalled and I look at Sydney and ask "Sydney ?"…Ms Stuart shrugs her shoulders..She does not speak, does not tell me to end the mediation, does not tell me I will be better off selling everything, does not ask for a private minute to confer with me..She SHRUGS her shoulders. ALL of this was included in my complaint to the Judicial Ethics Commission. The commission dismisses my case !!! and I call them to ask why ? I was told that once the Judge steps behind the curtain and takes off his robe and takes on the role of mediator, he is not subject to being under Judicial Ethics as an officer of the court. Then when he goes behind the same curtain and puts on his Judicial robe, he is subject to their 'ethics'. Ludicrous. I told the lady, "that is like a Catholic Priest putting on his vestments on Sunday and then abuses the Parishioners on Monday"... BUT, Sydney Stuart KNEW this; Davis was STILL, a Divorce court judge. It was not her life's work 'on the line', it was not her sweat and countless years of working hard, to have to give away more than 70% without even a trial. I was NEVER told I could end the mediation. In 2011 I was an after tax millionaire. In 2013 I qualified for food stamps in the state of TN. ALL, because of Ms Stuarts inept handling of my case. In the chosen words of one other that was involved with my case "Sydney is not a bad attorney, she is a terrible attorney". I ask those of you that understand a Bell Curve..This site does not allow you to put up a 'NO' star. It takes a lot of one stars to average a one star. Just look at how her peers, the 'Industry', rate Ms Stuart. My next letter of length will be a grievance to the Bar Association. It will be just one, of others

I was new to Austin and didn't know who to hire in my filing for divorce against my ex-husband. Since he had been arrested for domestic violence/assault, he had hired who were considered to be the best criminal defense and family law attorneys in the area. Being that I couldn't afford such high pro...file attorneys as my ex had retained, I consulted with one in order to obtain a recommendation and she recommended Ms. Stuart. Immediately after retaining Ms. Stuart, she filed all necessary paperwork to begin divorce proceedings. While my ex's attorney did everything to make certain that I didn't "win", Ms. Stuart made certain that I would not be taken advantage of by them. She did so by establishing my trust, gathering all of the facts, and always working diligently on my case. As anyone going through a divorce should know, no one "wins". However, I did get more than the 50/50 decisions rendered in most divorce cases. And, that was because of Ms. Stuart. I got everything, and MUCH more, than I had asked for in my divorce. Thank you, Ms. Stuart!

I have been opposing counsel in a case with Ms. Stuart. She was professional, courteous, knowledgeable but firm. I felt that she represented her client very effectively. She has also served as a mentor to me and has provided invaluable advice. She is a very knowledgable trial attorney and I would re...commend her.

I walked into Sydney Stuart's office very young, naive, and scared. I was going through an extremely difficult family situation. My son’s custody was on the table! His coward father who had left me while pregnant for some woman he met online was fighting to keep our son. Considering he had not se...en his son for over a year, because his young girlfriend did not allow him, it was ridiculous he now wanted full custody of his son. Never in my entire life, did I ever think I would be in a situation like this. Like me, my son’s father is a professional. We should be able to resolve differences by communicating and compromising. At last, this was not the case. My ex didn't even speak to me and simply sent his lawyer. My son’s father has the resources to get what he wants. He typically does. My ex already had an attorney on his side and his lawyer was calling me. His attorney was using legal terms, speaking very fast, and definitely making every attempt to intimidate me into signing numerous documents he had put together. Like most people, I had a great deal of anxiety about recruiting legal assistance to resolve family issues. At that time, I was in a very vulnerable situation and if I didn’t get help I would be taken advantage of. This was definitely a time in my life full of anxiety, worry, and I did not want to lose my son to someone who didn’t have any relationship with him for most of my son’s life. I looked for attorneys in Austin. I found Sydney Stuarts name, and I called her office. Without an appointment, I was immediately received in her office. I even spoke to the attorney with regards to my situation within minutes! I was amazed at how approachable Sydney Stuart was. Sydney Stuart took notes, listened to my case, and provided much needed support, information, and reassurance to a very young, bullied individual. Sydney Stuart took my case! Immediately she contacted the attorney of the other party! This marks the beginning of what would have been a much more intimidating, full of anxiety situation. Sydney Stuart was by my side every step of the way! In fact, Sydney Stuart worked in my case going back and forth with the other attorney late in the evening and nights. Hiring Sydney was the best thing I ever did to resolve my family situation. Her can do attitude and going “above and beyond,” for me was what settled my family issues. Sydney explained the law and the various options. She negotiated terms with the other party. She explained and acted as a mediator. She was professional, calm, patient, and eloquent. I must say, she did not once backed down in fighting for me for my rights and what was better for my son. Sydney did take time to converse with me about what was best for my son. At the time, I was bitter with my ex and had an urge to, “get back at him.” Sydney Stuart took the time to speak to me and visited with me about what was best for the child sometimes conveying things to me that I did not want to hear. To this day, I thank her for this. I was able to obtain the best possible scenario for what was best for my son. As difficult as it was for both of us to communicate and compromise, we managed to do what was best for our son. This thanks to the hard work, professionalism, and patience of Sydney Stuart! Till this day, my son’s father does have a relationship with our son and sees his son routinely. Since, everything is in writing there is little for us to quarrel about. We simply follow written orders of what we compromised and agreed of what is best for the child. Sydney is very trustworthy, responsive, knowledgeable, and kept me informed of my case every step of the way. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND SYDNEY STUART!