Stuart Andrews honored with Civic Star Award
COLUMBIA, SC – A long-time leader in the fight for systemic reform, Stuart Andrews has received the Richland County Bar Association Civic Star Award. The annual honor recognizes exceptional and meritorious community service.
“His care for others is sincere and deeply held, and it is this empathy and compassion that motivate his passion for service,” firm co-founder Kathleen McDaniel said in nominating Stuart for the honor. “He is well-deserving of the Civic Star Award.”
Stuart is the fourth Burnette Shutt & McDaniel attorney to receive the honor. Nekki Shutt, McDaniel, and Jack Cohoon are previous recipients.
From the start of his legal career with Palmetto Legal Services, Stuart has been committed to making systems fairer for others. During his time with that organization, now known as South Carolina Legal Services, he helped author legislation that increased protections for renters and victims of domestic violence.
After moving to private practice, he created his firm’s first structured pro bono program. With Stuart as a lead partner in the litigation, the team won a settlement of a class-action suit that led to the state of South Carolina dedicating millions of dollars for improved services for incarcerated people with serious mental illnesses.
Stuart continues to fight for that cause today. He and other attorneys at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel are part of a legal team suing Richland County over the inhumane, unconstitutional conditions seriously mentally ill men and women face in the overcrowded, understaffed Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
He also volunteers his time for legal organizations pushing for systemic reform. These include the ACLU of South Carolina, the South Carolina Access to Justice Task Force, the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, and South Carolina Legal Services.
An adjunct professor at both the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Stuart is committed to sharing his skills and knowledge with the next generation.