Howard Weitzman, 81, who for over half a century has been one of the most influential and successful attorneys in America, died this week in Pacific Palisades, CA, after a short illness. His is survived by his beloved wife Margaret Weitzman, Jed and Armen Weitzman.
A veteran of numerous front-page trials, Mr. Weitzman is renowned for his fearlessness in challenging government agents and adversaries. His clients have included every major motion picture studio, talent agencies William Morris, ICM and CAA, and many high-profile clients including John DeLorean, Michael Jackson, Marlon Brando, Morgan Freeman, Magic Johnson, O. J. Simpson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Justin Bieber, Ivan Reitman, Ozzy Osbourne, Sean Combs, Ron Meyer, Morgan Freeman and Chuck Lorre, amongst others. Weitzman has represented the Estate of Michael Jackson since its inception.
Weitzman virtually pioneered the courtroom steps press conference during his defense of DeLorean in 1984. “He helpfully puts his more obscure courtroom questions into context, indicates his current strategy and delivers small homilies on the dangers of a government entrapment operation gone wild,” wrote the Washington Post at the time. Weitzman’s congeniality and quotability earned him the affection and respect of the media throughout his career.
Howard Weitzman was born in Los Angeles and worked in his parents’ grocery business. Those beginnings gave him the ability to speak to anyone. As a youth, he pursued a career in baseball and played second base for a team that won the national college championship in 1961. After attending Los Angeles City College, a major league career seemed unlikely, so he took a friend’s suggestion to try USC Law School.
A founding partner at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump LLP, Weitzman has been the lead trial attorney in over 300 civil and criminal jury trials. He has represented over 1,000 individuals and companies on matters ranging from intellectual property and entertainment issues to family law and estate issues. From 1995-1998, Mr. Weitzman served as Vice President of Corporate Operations for Universal Studios.
Mr. Weitzman taught Trial Advocacy at the University of Southern California Law School for 12 years. He has lectured at Harvard, Georgetown Law Center, UCLA and numerous other law schools across the nation, and has been a speaker at countless seminars and symposiums for Bar Associations and conferences. He is been perennially named a “Power Lawyer” by The Hollywood Reporter and in Variety’s “Legal Impact Report.”. He has been a guest on many national television shows, including “CBS This Morning”, “Dateline,” and “Good Morning America.
He has twice received the Jerry Geisler Memorial Award as the outstanding trial lawyer in Los Angeles County. He has been profiled in numerous publications and was named one of the top fifteen lawyers in the country by The National Law Journal.
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