Stewart D. Williams is a shareholder in the firm's Products Liability and Toxic Torts Practice Group. With more than 30 years of experience, he maintains a diverse trial practice focusing on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting from motor vehicle accidents, products liability, and medical and hospital negligence.
Practice Focus
Stewart has tried over 100 jury cases representing plaintiffs and defendants throughout Florida. He has obtained several jury verdicts in excess of a million dollars, which are recognized by his membership in the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Recently, in the case of Dorsey v Reider, Stewart and his appellate team were successful in persuading the Florida Supreme Court to reinstate a $1.57 million dollar verdict he had obtained, which had been dismissed by the Third District Court of Appeal. In the Dorsey case, the Supreme Court clarified Florida law pertaining to the creation of a “foreseeable zone of risk”.
The South Florida Legal Guide has recognized Stewart as one of the “Top 1%” of lawyers in South Florida in the area of personal injury and wrongful death, and he has been included in Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite. He holds the highest rating (“AV”) from Martindale-Hubbell, ranking him at the highest level of professional excellence, and is recognized in The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. Stewart is also a member of the prestigious National Trial Lawyers- Top 100 Lawyers.
Stewart is a member/Diplomate of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates and served as the President of the Miami Chapter in 2011. He has also served on numerous committees of the Florida Bar and on the Board of Directors of the Miami-Dade County Bar Association.
In addition to the Florida Bar, Stewart has also been admitted to the United States District Court for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, State of Georgia (Special Admission) and Colorado including the United States District Court of Colorado and United States Supreme Court.
A longtime resident of Miami, Stewart attended the University of South Carolina and Florida International University where he obtained his B.S. in 1979. He obtained his law degree from California Western School of Law in 1982 and began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Miami, where he gained substantial trial experience in the Felony Division.
Stewart also litigates commercial disputes and devotes part of his practice to the representation of professionals and high-net worth individuals involved in complex dissolution of marriage actions, as well as post-judgment modifications and enforcement actions. Stewart has successfully litigated issues involving spousal support, distribution of assets including business as well as child custody and support.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Dade County Bar Association, Fee Arbitration Committee, Civil Rules Committee
- Board of Directors, 1996-1999
- Legal Services of Greater Miami
- Board of Directors, 1988-1990
- Florida Bar
- Grievance Committee “11-D”, Vice Chair, 1994-1997
- Civil Procedure Rules Committee, 2002 -2006
- Judicial Procedures Rules Committee, 2010-2013
- Trial Lawyers Section, 1988 to Present
- American Board of Trial Advocates, Diplomate
- President, Miami Chapter, 2011
- Treasurer, Miami Chapter, 2010
- Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- Miami-Dade County Independent Review Panel
- Miami-Dade County Bar Association
- Florida Justice Association,
- American Justice Association
Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, “Ethical and Tactical Considerations in Coverage Disputes,” Lorman Seminars, June 1992
- Speaker, “Negligent Security, the Tort of the Nineties,” South Florida Claims Council, October 1993