A Mediator with real World Litigation Experience
Rio Grande Mediation
STUART STARRY is an AV rated, preeminent attorney who has over 17 years of experience in personal injury, product liability, and other complex litigation. He conducts Mediation in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area. He performs legal writing for attorneys who have cases pending in Texas and federal courts.
Mr. Starry has experience in aviation accidents, wrongful death, serious personal injury, 18 wheeler accidents, automobile accidents, construction defects, securities fraud, breach of contract, divorce, and other civil cases. Mr. Starry also has familiarity with certain criminal law cases such as dui, dwi, drug offenses, sex offense charges and sex offender laws, as well as other misdemeanor criminal matters. He is also familiar with patents and the intellectual property system because of his experience as an inventor. In civil matters, he has spent time on both the Plaintiff and Defense sides of the bar, giving him a broad perspective.
Because he has also had careers in construction and manufacturing, his broad approach to mediation services is based on real world experience and not simply through the eyes of an attorney. mediate.com
EDUCATION:
Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 1986.
Writing Advisor; Advanced Trial Advocacy; Vanderbilt Bar Association Representative; Phi Delta Phi.
University of Southern California, B.A., cum laude, 1983.
Major: Interdisciplinary Studies in Political Science and International Relations. Phi Beta Kappa (high attainment in liberal scholarship); Phi Kappa Phi (top 5%); Dean's List; Hanes Foundation Scholar; Full Tuition Debate Scholarship; won and placed high in many debate tournaments throughout western United States.
Mediation in Albuquerque
Experience
August 2013 - Present: Stuart Starry, Attorney at Law, Sandia Park, New Mexico
Practicing mediator, concentrating his practice on daily rate personal injury and complex mediation in Albuquerque, New Mexico and surrounding states. He also handles family law mediation at hourly rates. Practicing attorney, licensed in Texas, concentrating his practice on legal briefing and appeals with attorneys who have cases pending in Texas and Federal courts. He also engages in freelance legal writing on civil law topics such as federal preemption and jurisdictional challenges. He also writes on criminal law cases and matters involving fourth amendment rights, sex offender laws, entrapment, and police misconduct.
SEPTEMBER 2009 - PRESENT: QUICKPOLES LLC, SANDIA PARK, NEW MEXICO
Founded company. Invented and patented the "pole-to-ski coupling arrangement" which allows a ski pole to be snapped into a ski’s bindings, forming an instant handle with which to carry the ski. See www.quickpoles.com. Managed all aspects of company, including design, patent prosecution, production, marketing and branding. Product voted 2014 "Finalist” at International Trade Fair for Sports Equipment and Fashion) Munich Germany.
See https://twitter.com/quickpoles/status/430996695724212224.
MAY 2004 - AUGUST 2009: THE BLUEGRASS COMPANIES AND CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC HOMES, LP, HOUSTON, TEXAS
Founded residential building business. Managed all aspects of construction and sales, including, site selection and purchase, design, permitting, purchasing, subcontracting, foundation, framing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, interior and exterior finishing, and sales. Awarded prize for “Custom Home of the Year” (2007) (under $400,000.00) and “Custom Home Front Elevation of the Year” (2007) (under $400,000.00) with the Greater Houston Homebuilder’s Association. Featured in “Builder’s Journal” (see attached article).
AUGUST 1997 - APRIL 2004: STARRY & ASSOCIATES, PC, HOUSTON, TEXAS
Founded plaintiff oriented litigation firm. Managed all aspects of practice. Performed lead role in larger cases and supervised younger attorneys in smaller cases. Supervised office manager in law office management role. Developed case anagement system. Interviewed clients, conducted discovery, prepared for, mediated, and/or tried complex personal injury and product liability cases. Briefed and argued all appeals at state and federal levels. Also, handled 40 case docket of aviation, product liability, and personal injury matters. Litigated numerous client cases and managed aggregate settlement of mass tort pharmaceutical case involving hundreds of clients. Argued successfully en banc before the U.S Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. See: Ruling Opens Door for PI Suits Against Airlines in State Courts: Houston Solo Victorious in 9th Circuit, Texas Lawyer, December 7, 1998 (vol. 14, no. 39) (discussing Charas v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 160 F.3d 1259, 1266 (9th Cir. 1998) (en banc)).
SEPTEMBER 1991 - SEPTEMBER 1997: FLEMING, HOVENKAMP & GRAYSON, HOUSTON, TEXAS.
Managed docket of 25-35 cases as lead plaintiff’s counsel. Case subjects included commercial aviation, general aviation, death, serious personal injury, securities fraud, and environmental contamination. Served as lead counsel, co-lead counsel, and/or team leader in very large class action and mass action cases. Subject matters included securities fraud, product liability, environmental/toxic tort and consumer fraud. Significant appellate experience: Argued successfully en banc before the U.S Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning precedent created by self when defense attorney. See: Turning Off the No Suing Sign, Texas Lawyer, March 27, 1995 (vol. 11, no. 2) (discussing Hodges v. Delta Airlines, Inc., 44 F.3d 334 (5th Cir. 1995) (en banc)).
MAY 1986 – AUGUST 1991: BEIRNE, MAYNARD & PARSONS, HOUSTON, TEXAS.
Managed 30 case docket as lead defense counsel in federal and state courts. Subject matters ranged from product liability to contracts. Served as co-counsel in many major product liability and personal injury lawsuits, including aviation and medical
malpractice cases. Trial experience included: First Chair in jury trials representing major air carriers and workers compensation carriers, First Chair in bench trial representing a well control company, Second Chair in major aviation trials involving helicopter and airplane crashes. Obtained appellate experience in both Federal and State courts. See, e.g. O'Carroll v. American Airlines, 863 F.2d 11, (5th Cir. 1989) cert, denied 109 S.Ct. 3158 (1989).
SUMMER 1985 CLERKSHIPS:
Gilpin, Maynard, Parsons, Pohl & Bennett, hOUSTON, TEXAS
Phillips, King, Smith & Wright, Houston, Texas.
Drafted legal briefs and memoranda in personal injury, product liability and admiralty cases.
SUMMER 1984 CLERKSHIP;
COLORADO SUPREME COURT, DENVER, COLORADO
Junior Clerk. Served under Chief Justice William H. Erickson. Drafted opinions and certiorari memos.
OTHER COURSEWORK:
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Mediation Training Certificate, 2010.
RICE UNIVERSITY, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Business Valuation Course, 1998.
WRITINGS AND SPEECHES:
Author of Preemption in the Skies, Trial, March, 1994; Federal Preemption in Commercial Aviation: Tort Litigation Under 49 U.S.C. § 1305, 58 J. Air L. & Comm. 657, 683-84 (1993); Torts at Twenty Thousand Feet - Federal preemption in commercial
aviation, The Brief, Fall 1993; “Asserting and Avoiding the Preemption Defense,” Chapter 52 of Civil Trial Practice: Winning Techniques of Successful Trial Attorneys, 2000.
Lecturer on federal preemption in aviation law. Appearances include the 1992 American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California and the 1993 SMU Air Law Symposium in Dallas.
PATENTS:
“Integrated Pole-to-Ski Coupling Arrangement,” US Patent No. 8235423 (Aug. 7, 2012).
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
State Bar of Texas (Admitted 1986)
American Bar Association: Sections on Litigation, Tort and Insurance Practice
HOBBIES AND INTERESTS:
Skiing, Jogging, inventing, and being a good father.
Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International