Stuart Hartstone, Deputy Director of Litigation

Stuart L. Hartstone is an attorney at Pike & Lustig, LLP.

Stuart is part of the firm’s complex commercial litigation division, where he applies his knowledge representing individuals and entities accused of quasi-criminal conduct in the civil divisions of Florida’s state and federal courts, including patient brokering, anti-kickback violations, FDUTPA claims, civil RICO claims, False Claims Act violations, allegations of fraud, and other causes of action. Stuart’s practice also includes representing attorneys in the defense of Florida Bar complaints, grievances, and disciplinary actions before the Florida Bar.

Prior to joining Pike & Lustig, Stuart served as the Senior Supervising Trial Court Law Clerk for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Over the course of his five-year tenure with the Circuit Court, Stuart trained and supervised dozens of judicial law clerks/staff attorneys, administered the Circuit Court’s Criminal Appellate Division, and drafted a myriad of trial and postconviction court orders, appellate briefs, and legal memoranda. Stuart’s experience is highly valuable to clients of the firm facing allegations of white-collar crime and other sophisticated business claims.

Stuart earned his law degree from Florida International University College of Law in 2010. He began his career in Miami helping launch the Florida Capital Resource Center (“FCRC”), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the defense and mitigation of death penalty cases. Serving as Acting Executive Director, Stuart drafted proposed legislation concerning the death penalty, provided litigation support to capital defense attorneys, and organized CLE training opportunities around the State.

Stuart also gained significant appellate experience, drafting amicus curiae briefs in support of impact litigation both in Florida’s appellate courts and the Supreme Court of the United States, including one brief filed on behalf of retired Florida circuit court judges in Hurst v. Florida, 577 U.S. 92 (2016), where the Supreme Court ultimately found Florida’s (previous) death penalty statute unconstitutional.

Stuart is a member of The Florida Bar, The Massachusetts Bar, and The Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.