Stuart Weissman, who rose to lead the Miami-Dade Bar and a national medical-malpractice practice, died Thursday of gastroesophageal cancer. He was 43.
Even as his illness progressed over more than two years, Weissman continued to take depositions remotely and try cases across the country while serving as president of the Miami-Dade Bar. His law partner, Stuart Ratzan, recalled that he worked on two “nascent files” as he underwent the rigors of cancer treatment and exhibited steadfast devotion to his family.
“I figured we’ll see what happens,” Ratzan said. “He took one case in Milwaukee, and it ended up in June being one of the largest medical malpractice settlements in the history of Milwaukee, and he got an equally large result in a case we had in Las Vegas.”
Ratzan said that in September, Weissman suffered a perforation of his esophagus, and doctors told his family that surgery was not possible because of the cancer. Friends and colleagues gathered at his bedside, believing he would not survive.
“He miraculously sealed off the perforations without surgery,” Ratzan recalled. “And they called it a ‘Rosh Hashanah miracle.’ He survived from mid-September until Thursday.”
Continue the Fight
Weissman grew up in Tampa and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, where he met his future wife, Ashley Beckwith. He received his law degree from the top-ranked advocacy school, Stetson University College of Law; and during law school, he won the National Moot Court Competition in Austin, Texas.
Weissman began his legal career at Ratzan Weissman & Boldt as a first-year associate and was promoted to partner within a few years. After marrying Beckwith, the couple settled on Miami Beach, where they joined Temple Beth Sholom and became active in the local community.
As a young lawyer, Weissman built a national plaintiffs’ practice focused on medical malpractice, catastrophic negligence, wrongful death and products liability. He was trial counsel in a series of high-value verdicts and settlements, including a $23 million medical-malpractice verdict in Charlotte County, Florida, believed to be the county’s largest civil jury award. The Daily Business Review later named him a finalist for its Most Effective Lawyers award.
Other cases included a $46.5 million medical-malpractice verdict in Arkansas involving a child who suffered brain damage after untreated jaundice, and a $45 million verdict in the death of a medical student following a late-night crash at a construction site along Interstate 75 in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Weissman was also active in Bar leadership, serving as president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Florida Bar and later as president of the Miami-Dade Bar, the state’s largest voluntary bar association.
In an interview with DBR before his death, he spoke about succeeding Zurich North America attorney Charise A. Morgan as president of the Miami-Dade Bar—"It's astonishing that it took 108 years for us to have the first female Black president”—and said one of his goals in the role was to expand engagement among younger lawyers while strengthening pro bono work, mentorship and civic outreach
“Our profession is evolving rapidly,” he said, "Times are changing. Our legal landscape is getting younger ... I want to encourage our young lawyers to get involved so that the [Bar] can allow you not to drive blind, but provide you with opportunities to succeed."
Adam Finkel, a partner at the Haggard Law Firm and the vice president of the Miami-Dade Bar, said Weissman was a phenomenal lawyer and noted that plans are underway to honor his contributions to the Bar under its new president, Melissa V. Jordon, a partner at Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel.
“You don’t get to pick what struggles or obstacles you have in life,” Finkel said. “Stu led the bar through what he was going through and tried to be there whenever he could, and when he couldn’t physically be there, his voice was always heard and his resolve was always felt. His year of the presidency was encouraging everybody to continue the fight and to push forward. And he was a phenomenal president.”
Weissman is survived by his wife, Ashley, and his children, Emma (12), Joey Brooke (10), and Luke (6), his parents, Aida and Charles Weissman, brother Richard Weissman, and sister Karie Swindal.
By Michael A. Mora (via the Daily Business Review)