Howard Weitzman
{{Short description|American entertainment lawyer (1939–2021)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Howard Weitzman
| image = Howard Weitzman Esq.jpg
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| other names =
| birth_name = Howard Lloyd Weitzman
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|09|21}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| occupation = Entertainment lawyer
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|4|7|1939|9|21}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Stacey Furstman|1969|1976|end=div}}
- {{marriage|Margaret Ginger Garabedian|1981}}
}}
| partner =
| children = 2, including Armen
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}}
Howard Lloyd Weitzman (September 21, 1939 – April 7, 2021) was an American entertainment lawyer active in matters ranging from intellectual property and entertainment issues to family law and estate issues. He was notable for representing Michael Jackson's estate in the IRS case against it.{{cite web|last1=Karp|first1=Hannah|title=Tax man pursues Michael Jackson estate|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/tax-man-pursues-michael-jackson-estate/news-story/570d24d9f2f4b986607219962fd767b8?nk=7d819767a230d79ffce90643c9e95b20-1488258307|website=The Australian|accessdate=February 28, 2017}} His other famous clients included Justin Bieber,{{cite web|last1=Duke|first1=Alan|title=Justin Bieber settles lawsuit with ex-bodyguard Moshe Benabou - CNN.com|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/03/showbiz/justin-bieber-bodyguard-lawsuit/|website=CNN|access-date=February 28, 2017}} O. J. Simpson,{{cite web|author=|title=Howard Weitzman|url=https://wn.com/howard_weitzman|website=World News|accessdate=February 28, 2017|language=en}} and John DeLorean.{{cite web|author=|title=Howard Weitzman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/17/us/delorean-is-freed-of-cocaine-charge-by-a-federal-jury.html|website=New York Times|accessdate=November 3, 2018|language=en}}
Weitzman was a founding partner at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump LLP (KWIKA),{{cite web|author=|title=The Music Industry's Top Lawyers 2016: Who Made the List?|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7438537/music-industry-top-lawyers-list-2016|website=Billboard|accessdate=February 28, 2017}} a boutique litigation firm in Santa Monica, California.
Education
Weitzman completed his B.A. degree at the University of Southern California (1962) and his J.D. degree at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law (1965). He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1966.{{cite web|author=|title=Beverly Hills Bar Association|url=https://www.bhba.org/intus/event3/signup.asp?event_id=2346|website=BHBA|accessdate=February 28, 2017|archive-date=February 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228181818/https://www.bhba.org/intus/event3/signup.asp?event_id=2346|url-status=dead}}
Early career
Weitzman taught trial advocacy at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law for 12 years.{{cite web|last1=Iacobo|first1=Maria|title=Hooray for Hollywood! - USC Gould School of Law|url=http://gould.usc.edu/press/article.cfm?newsid=4026|website=USC Gould|accessdate=February 28, 2017}}
From 1995 to 1998, Weitzman served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Operations for Universal Studios, where he was responsible for corporate restructuring.{{cite web|last1=Merkin|first1=Daphne|title=Can Anybody Make a Movie for Women?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/magazine/20Meyers-t.html|website=The New York Times|accessdate=February 28, 2017|date=December 15, 2009}}
Legal career
For a time, Weitzman was a Certified Specialist in Criminal Law (the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization). In 1986, he became a managing partner at the law firm of Wyman Bautzer, and then in 1991 joined the law firm of Katten Muchin Zavis & Weitzman. In 1994, after Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered, Nicole's ex-husband, O. J. Simpson, was one of Weitzman's clients and soon became the primary suspect. Though Weitzman initially offered his legal help, after enough evidence was produced to suggest Simpson was the killer and put him on trial, Weitzman dropped Simpson as a client, forcing him to hire Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran instead.
Weitzman also appeared as a legal advisor in Murder One (1995), Murder in the First (2014), and Thank You for Smoking (2005).{{cite web| title=Howard Weitzman, Hollywood Power Lawyer, Dies at 81|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/howard-weitzman-dead-hollywood-power-lawyer-was-81-1292694/|date=April 7, 2021|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter}}
Weitzman died in Los Angeles from cancer on April 7, 2021, at age 81.{{cite news|url = https://deadline.com/2021/04/michael-jackson-oj-simpson-lawyer-howard-weitzman-dies-obit-1234729956/|title = Howard Weitzman Dies: Heavyweight Lawyer Repped Michael Jackson, O. J. Simpson, CAA, Marlon Brando & More|last = Patten|first = Dominic|work = Deadline Hollywood|date = April 7, 2021|accessdate = April 7, 2021}}
Awards and recognition
Weitzman twice won the Jerry Giesler Memorial Award as an outstanding trial lawyer in Los Angeles County.{{cite web|author=|title=Weitzman Joins Greenberg Glusker|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1412356/weitzman-joins-greenberg-glusker|website=Billboard|language=en}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0919388}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weitzman, Howard}}
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:American entertainment lawyers
Category:Deaths from cancer in California