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Howard Weitzman, Michael Jackson and O.J. Simpson Attorney, Dead at 81

Howard Weitzman – famed attorney to Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and countless other celebrities – has died after battling cancer.

After an illustrious, high-profile career spanning over five decades, attorney Howard Weitzman has passed at age 81. Often seen by modern audiences in his ‘Dateline,’ ‘Good Morning America,’ and ‘CBS This Morning’ appearances, the Hollywood law specialist became synonymous with taking care of Tinsel Town’s most notable legal issues.

According to TMZ, who broke the news Thursday, Howard Weitzman died this week in Pacific Palisades, CA. Citing the attorney’s family, the celebrity trade says Weitzman lost his battle with cancer. Further details are unavailable at this time.

Weitzman’s name will forever be associated with O.J. Simpson and his murder case. He will not, however, carry any guilt into the next life. After representing Simpson for a single day, Howard Weitzman then quit the case and dropped O.J. as a client. Hollywood Legend has it that Weitzman’s wife, Margaret, urged him not to continue down that path. In hindsight, it’s not hard to see why.

The Life and Work of Howard Weitzman

Among his other most infamous clients was Michael Jackson. Weitzman repped Jackson’s Estate from the very beginning of the pop legend’s legal troubles and startling allegations. Throughout his 50+ year career in law, Howard would also represent names as iconic as Magic Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Morgan Freeman, Marlon Brando, Ozzy Osbourne, Courtney Love, and Justin Bieber.

Weitzman was born Howard Lloyd Weitzman  on September 21, 1939 in Los Angeles, California. He would be raised in LA, as well as beginning his law career in the City of Angels at Los Angeles City College and USC Law School. Afterward, he would found the Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump LLP law firm. From this firm, he would be the lead trial attorney in more than 300 civil and criminal cases.

Weitzman also used his expertise for teaching. He would lecture at USC Law School, Georgetown Law Center, UCLA, and Harvard, among other universities. In addition, Howard taught trial advocacy at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law for over a decade.

Alongside changing the face of Hollywood legal troubles forever, Howard would also popularize the courthouse-step press conferences that are now a staple of high-profile trials and the crime genre.

For it all, Weitzman would win the coveted Jerry Giesler Memorial Award for “Outstanding Trial Lawyer” in his home of Los Angeles.

His wife, Margaret, and their two children – Jed and Armen, survive him. Howard Weitzman was 81.