Sheyna N. Burt - Fairfax, VA

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 still out on that one. Like I said, she'll do a good job for you, but only on her terms.