Stuart Address | Stuart Litigation Lawyer

A young impressionable 18 year old female employee in her first full-time job was employed at a new car dealership in West Palm Beach and subjected to sexually suggestive verbal comments and brief "brushing". She was lured to a restaurant on a pretense of joining her boss for a meeting with a client wherein the client miraculously failed to attend. The young lady was encouraged to join the boss in drinking and as she left to head to her parked car, the boss followed, cornered her in an alley, pulled her top down, exposed her breasts, and attempted to "motor boat" the employee's breasts before she ran away and call and Uber. Ultimately, to avoid litigation, the car dealership settled in a voluntary pre-suit mediation for a substantial payment. To the 18 year old employee, on her first venture away from home in a full-time position, the result was both monetary security to move forward and an emotional support by having been believed by someone else who was willing to advocate for her rights.

After working for large law firms during the initial 10 years of my career and moderate sized law firms during the succeeding 10 years, I decided that opening my own practice was best for me as it would enable me to strip away all bureaucracy to focus directly with my clients on decisions which needed to be made about strategy, expense, etc. I began without clients and a few colleagues who referred my initial cases to me. Following word of mouth and some advertising, the practice developed and I became known for being skilled in several of my primary areas of practice.

An individual who will look them in the eye, tell them the pro's and cons of their prospective case (and if they are clients of their ongoing case), provide them their legal and practical options, and let them make their own decision. In my view, a lawyer should not be a salesman to a prospective client. While working with a client, the client should expect regular communication regarding the status of their matter. They should expect to be able to access their attorney; not simply an assistant or paralegal. In time, a client should expect that their attorney will know the facts of their case almost as well as the client who lived the experience which led to the case. A lawyer should not simply be a "mouthpiece". A lawyer should provide both legal and practical options and advice, and a client should expect that their attorney will exhibit in some manner the fact that he/she actually cares about their case.

Local knowledge of substantive law is not very important in the areas in which I practice. Local knowledge of attorneys and judges and procedures is always important.

Generally, we are able to advise a prospective client whether we believe they may have a viable case in the matter about which they are calling. Quite often, we are able to advise that we do not believe a case exists given that most lay people are unfamiliar with employment law, discrimination, etc., and may think that they have a case (or maybe should even have a case if the law was as it should be), but clearly do not have a viable case. For prospective clients where the matter is more gray, we offer consultations in our office. Depending upon the nature of the area of law, the consultations are either free or fee-based.

Bluntly, I believe that I exhibit more concern than the average attorney for his individual clients. Also, I believe that I tend to be more forthright in may analysis of the pro's and cons of a client's case than the average attorney. I advise them of both the legal prospects of their case and the practical life consequences.

The most rewarding aspect of my job is my ability to interact one-on-one with my clients, to develop a relationship with them, which isn't typically available in the larger firms with which I was previously employed, and to have my clients appreciate the dedication with which I advocate on their behalves and the actual care and concern which I demonstrate for their personal well-being. Win or lose, great or small result, it is the appreciation of clients, many of whom become friends following the conclusion of representation, is the most rewarding aspect of what I do in life.

I enjoy watching sports, and attending my son's little league practices and games. I also enjoy political or spy fiction in books, as well as in television and movies. I regularly watch cable news with regard to ongoing political issues in the nation and throughout the world. I have a keen interest in the mechanism of the functioning of government and the manner in which politicians have changed over the past decades.

I am the President of my synagogue, and am working with many others to grow it from birth and beyond its infancy.

• Martin County Chamber of Commerce | Member | 2008 - Present
  United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida | Member | 2003 - Present
  United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida | Member | 1996 - Present
  Martin County Bar Association | Member | 1996 - Present
  United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida | Member | 1996 - Present

• Client Distinction Award | Martindale-Hubbell | 2013
  BV Rated | Martindale-Hubbell | 2011

• Valdes v. Crosby, Middle District of Florida, 2005
  Various prison guards violently beat an inmate on death row. The guards and the State were sued for wrongful death. On the defendants' motions for summary judgment, the motions were denied.

• American Banner Corp. v. Oliver, 5th DCA, 1995
  Reaffirming the legal doctrine that an appeal may not proceed without an adequate record having been established by the appellant in the lower court. The lower court decision is "presumed correct" absent a sufficient record for review.

• Mason v. Rubin, 19th Judicial Circuit, Martin County, 1999
  Plaintiff sued Defendant for default on a mortgage. Plaintiff failed to prove the existence of the mortgage or reform the lost mortgage and the case was dismissed following trial before the Circuit Court. The 4th District Court of Appeal affirmed based upon Plaintiff's failure to establish the mortgage in any proper manner.

• Consumer Protection Reporting Service | (Associate Managing Editor) | 1985
  George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics | (Associate) | 1984

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