Frederick Stuart began his career in 1973 as an associate for Thompson Ogletree and Deakins in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the next thirteen years, Fred built a large management practice, becoming widely known as one of the best labor lawyers in the country. In 1986, Fred left his partnership with Ogletree to join Powell Goldstein. After another six years in practice, Fred decided to strike out on his own. He was joined by former Powell Goldstein Partner, Mac Irvin. The firm Stuart & Irvin was born. That firm later took in two more partners, becoming Stuart, Irvin, Stanford and Kessler.

Fred’s vision was to build a firm without all the trappings of success that traditional law firms seem to encounter. His focus was on keeping overhead low so that he could provide top quality legal services at a fair price. Fred also discarded the traditional law firm structure. Rather than “leveraging” associates and building complex “revenue sharing” pyramids, he instituted an “eat what you kill” structure under which partners and associates were expected to support their own firm footprint.

In 1996, Fred went in house with Robert Bosch LLC, becoming their Vice President of Labor Relations. He left behind Irvin & Kessler, a thriving Atlanta law firm to this day.

In 2002, Fred’s son, Andrew, graduated from law school. Following in his father’s footsteps, Andrew began representing companies in Labor and Employment matters. He joined his father’s old firm, where he gained substantial experience as a litigator under the mentorship of his father’s old partners. Over the next few years, Andrew broadened his practice to include general federal litigation and the occasional plaintiff’s case. He also befriended Gordon Johnston.

In the meantime, J. David Stuart, Andrew’s best friend from his days at the University of Georgia, had established himself as formidable commercial litigator. David graduated from Georgia in 1996. His first job was to run the Atlanta office of the Florida based firm of Pollack and Rosen. In 2002, David joined the firm of Busch and Reed, where he continued to develop his skills in construction law, commercial law, and general litigation. After ten years of working for someone else, David decided that he could do it better.

In 2007 David joined Elizabeth Stuart, Andrew’s wife, and started the Stuart Law Offices. Elizabeth had been practicing as a real estate lawyer and litigator since 2002. She started off with Miller and Gaines, P.C. in Atlanta. After several years developing her practice, Elizabeth moved to Fearnley, Califf, Price, Walker and Hughes where she took over as the managing attorney. One year later, she was made a named partner in the firm.

In late 2008, Gordon Johnston and Andrew Stuart were seeing many of their clients struggle in a souring economy. The two spent many hours discussing strategies to maximize the value of their legal services. They concluded high quality legal services with an renewed emphasis on efficiency will be the “new normal” in post recession America. In short, the legal profession will either reinvent itself or become obsolete.

David and Elizabeth had already mastered the low-overhead model for practicing law. They were also committed to finding new and innovative ways to maximize their efforts on behalf of their clients. Joining practices seemed a natural fit, especially given the close personal relationships between the partners.

In 2009, Stuart & Johnston, LLC was born. Shortly thereafter, Fred Stuart retired from his long time position with Bosch. He joined the firm, bringing not only his innovative spirit, but also fifteen years of in-house experience. Today, Stuart & Johnston uses this innovative and efficient approach to help its clients face even the most difficult challenges.