Stu was born in Missoula, Montana. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University in 1969, where in 1968, as the defensive captain of the football team he helped return the Axe to the Farm. He received his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the University of Montana School of Law in 1973, where he was the associate editor of the Montana Law Review. After law school, Stu accepted a federal clerkship with U.S. District Judge Russell E. Smith from 1973-1974. Stu was admitted to practice in the State of Montana in 1973.

Stu has been in private practice with Hughes, Kellner, Sullivan & Alke for 34 years, primarily involved in civil litigation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and his practice now focuses solely on mediation. Contrasted with the protracted, often contentious nature of litigation, Stu appreciates the compressed intensity and the informal civility of mediation. He mediates all kinds of cases all over this great state, and enjoys the variety of issues, parties, attorneys, and interesting challenges of attempting to resolve disputes.

Stu’s interests and hobbies include mountain and road biking, alpine and nordic skiing, surfing, and reading.