Michael Austin Stewart

As someone who went through a couple of lawyers before finally finding Mike Stewart, I can tell you that Mike stands heads and shoulders above the rest. The best lawyers are going to be busy and Mike is no exception, however, his ability to focus on your case and prepare for trial is second to none.... Having never been involved in the “criminal justice” system before (at age 50!), I was unsure how things worked and what to expect. Mike is well known in Pierce County for his ability to advocate and negotiate with the State to achieve the best outcome for his clients. Mike reviewed the charge (Assault 2, DV) and my statement (do yourself a favor and ALWAYS document your recollection of events immediately following any incident involving the police) and agreed to represent me. Immediately, he started putting the wheels in motion to move it forward to trial, as he actually listened to me and knew I wanted to take it to trial, since I was innocent of the charge levied against me by the State. Trust me, not all criminal lawyers are criminal trial lawyers. Some specialize in plea bargains only. If you are truly innocent, do not work with anyone other than Mike, he is THAT good! At his recommendation, he suggested that I hire an investigator, someone who uncovered additional details that corroborated my statement and, at the same time, started to both dismantle the “victim’s” statement to the police as well as uncovering things that witnesses saw and said that were never documented by the police in charge of the State's "investigation". When he had enough information from me and my investigator, he asked me again if I was prepared to go all the way to trial, knowing that once he asked the State to let him and my investigator interview the “victim”, the State would be reluctant to dismiss the charge or take a plea. He let me make the decision, as every lawyer is obligated to do, and we went forward with the “victim” interview. During the interview, Mike skillfully questioned the “victim”, based on my statement and the details uncovered by my investigator, and got this person to admit to several criminal acts in front of the State that, at the same time, also exonerated me. We didn’t get to complete the victim interview, unfortunately, as Mike had already driven a truck right through the victim’s story. Within two weeks of the first interview, during which Mike kept the pressure on the State to produce the “victim” again for another round, the State agreed to dismiss the charge against me. Whether you are guilty or a crime or not, do not let the State dictate all the terms of your case and, most importantly, the outcome of it. On top of his legal skill, Mike and his staff (I mainly worked with Brianna) are responsive, easy to talk to, and make sure you are their top priority when it matters the most (Courts move painfully slow so have patience!). As I said in the beginning, Mike is a busy lawyer and, as a result, has to switch context and clients on a daily basis. But he was always ready to go to battle with the State on my behalf when it mattered and achieved a great outcome for me. Do yourself a favor, call Mike and let him and his team deal with the nuances of the law and the “criminal justice” system and achieve the right outcome for you, based on the facts and the law.

An uncommon man among uncommon men, is the only statement that adequately describes Mr. Michael Austin Stewart. Personally, I have only ever had true and absolute faith in the capacity of one attorney out of the many I have retained and that was over a decade ago. Before finding and meeting Mr. ...Stewart and his team, I had almost given up hope that high caliber, trustworthy attorneys still existed. For the sake of brevity, I will suffice it to say that I was beyond frustrated with my circumstances and seemed to be slipping ever deeper into the abyss of red-tape, arbitrary stipulations and non-productive hearings, all stemming from the misdemeanor assault charge I was fighting, by way of the MUNICIPALITY OF OLYMPIA. Mr. Stewart's team received a voicemail from me during the holiday season of 2018. I was blown away when a member of his team returned my call almost immediately and had me scheduled for a consultation before the year was through. That act alone is indicative of how important clients are to the men and women of Stewart Law Firm, but more important to me, was the vetting. You can tell how well an attorney is going to pay attention to the details of a case, in part, by the nature of the questions you receive from his associates/assistants/paralegals, during their initial inquiry. The moment of truth in my mind is two-fold. The first, being the feeling that I sense when I make first eye contact with someone and seeing how the air moves about them as they enter a room. How do they carry themselves? Do they look me in my eyes? How is their handshake? While the consultation carries on, what's the attorney doing? Are they checking their email or are they present in all their faculties? Are they focused and attentive to the reason I am here? Is my time important to them? You see, these are some of the mannerisms that can help you see WHO THE PERSON REALLY IS. It just so happens to be some of the exact same material that sets Mike far and above his peers and show him to be an uncommon man in his field. Mr. Stewart doesn't waste time. He is a well-oiled, finely tuned, high-performance machine and he's race ready. Day one, meeting number one, Mike is more than present, he is mentally and physically involved all the way. Now, it would be impossible for me to say or know exactly how Mr. Stewart analyzes and interprets all of the variables and potential pitfalls of a given circumstance, but I know he brought solutions to the table and gave me clear instructions on how to proceed forward, following our meeting. We spoke for a while and he seemed very personable and genuine in his relating to me and my hardship. I think he knows it's important for us to feel like someone is listening and paying attention to what we have encountered while dealing with the arbitrary sanctions of pre-trial, as well as the family and career concerns arising from it all. Mike is a human too (super important) and feeling confident that he and I were tracking on the same subject, I handed it all over to him and his team. I let out a deep sigh of relief and awaited my instructions. MR. STEWART IS RENOWNED FOR HIS ABILITY TO TROUBLESHOOT AND PROBLEM SOLVE, COMPLEX COURT CASES, which is exactly what I had, and exactly what he did. On May 14, 2019 my case was DISMISSED. This is the SECOND HALF OF THE MOMENT OF TRUTH to which I alluded earlier. This is where Mike and his team earn their money, in my mind. At the end of the day, RESULTS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS in any language. My name is Dave Davidson, I live in Olympia and if someone tells me they have a criminal problem, I send them to Michael Austin Stewart. Do yourself a favor, if you have criminal charges, or want someone on retainer just in case, get an appointment with Mike and see for yourself. You need this dude on your team.