Stuart Weissman, Miami-Dade Bar president and fervent Michigan fan, dies at 43

Everything that Stuart Weissman did, he did with full force.

Even after a 2023 diagnosis of gastroesophageal cancer, Weissman never stopped showing up for those who needed him — starting with his wife, Ashley, and their three children, and extending to his clients and fellow attorneys.

An accomplished trial attorney, Weissman was best known for his work as a medical malpractice lawyer and his tenure as president of the Miami-Dade County Bar Association. He built a national trial practice, earning a reputation as a relentless advocate for his clients and a mentor to young lawyers.

Weissman died on Jan. 8. He was 43.

Weissman attended the University of Michigan, where he met his future wife, Ashley. Their relationship began in their senior year and continued for three years while Stuart attended Stetson University College of Law in Florida and Ashley completed graduate school in Chicago. In 2008, they moved to Miami.

Stuart Ratzan, Weissman’s longtime friend and law partner at Ratzan Weissman & Boldt, first met Weissman when he came in for a job interview in 2008. The firm hired him shortly thereafter. Ratzan learned just a few weeks ago that Stuart walked out of the interview and told the firm’s staff, confidently, that he would be back. He was.

Within a few years, he was trying major cases around Florida and the country. Between 2014 and 2020, he and Ratzan built a national trial practice together, winning a series of large verdicts and settlements.

Even after his cancer diagnosis in the summer of 2023, he continued working. When it became clear he could no longer physically endure a trial, Weissman found new ways to continue his work.

“He loved it,” Ratzan said. “He didn’t want to stop.”

During treatment, Weissman worked two complex cases simultaneously — one in Wisconsin and one in Nevada. The Wisconsin case became the largest medical malpractice settlement in that state’s history, said Ratzan.

“Even to the end, he was heroic in his commitment and ability to work up cases,” Ratzan said.

One of their defining early cases was a medical malpractice trial in Charlotte County in southwest Florida involving a newborn. The defense tactics frustrated Stuart, and he wanted to pursue sanctions and procedural fights.

But after a talk with Ratzan, who told him such things aren’t worth it, he redirected his energy into trial preparation. The case ended with the largest verdict in the county’s history.

“He didn’t just listen and take a lesson, he embodied that,” Ratzan said. “It fit with his entire character. He was like the best friend and a brother, not just a partner, but all three of those things are incredibly powerful in terms of relationships lost.”

Bar presidency

Ashley Weissman said that one of the proudest moments of his career was when he was installed as president of the Miami-Dade County Bar Association last year — even while battling cancer. He joined the Miami-Dade Bar early in his career, having first served as president of its Young Lawyers Section.

“He was sick and he stood up in front of 500 people...and he gave a beautiful speech,” Ashley said.

“[The Bar has] given so much to me that I want to get back to it. I could have very easily just resigned and said, ‘This is crazy, and I don’t want to take on this role. It’s too much. I’ve got too many other things to worry about.’ But it’s done so much for me when I was driving blind as a young lawyer, that I want others to know how important it is,” Stuart Weissman told Law360 Pulse after he became president.

Loving father

Beyond his work as an attorney, Weissman was a devoted father to his three children, Emma, 12, Joey Brooke, 10, and Luke, 6.

“He still went to everything that his kids did,” Ashley said.

When his son started playing baseball, he didn’t miss games or practices. Even on chemotherapy days, he would come home and head straight to the field.

He loved University of Michigan football and recorded every game if he could not watch live. He loved to cook and watched cooking shows. He enjoyed dinners with friends, sporting events with his children, and traveling — though he disliked packing.

Throughout treatment, his family and friends rallied around him. His sister organized a national show of support called “Go Blue Go Stu,” drawing on his lifelong love of Michigan. Friends, colleagues, former clients, athletes and public figures sent messages and videos wearing Michigan colors — blue and yellow — and offering encouragement.

His funeral was held Monday at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach. More than 800 people attended, including former clients, lawyers from across the country and friends from college and law school.

“He was like a legend,” said Ashley.

This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 9:00 AM.