Holland and Knight

U.S. and international office locations

Holland & Knight has U.S. offices in Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Northern Virginia (Tyson's Corner), Orlando, Portland, San Francisco, Stamford, Tallahassee, Tampa, Washington, D.C., and West Palm Beach.

Holland & Knight maintains three international offices: in Bogota, Colombia, London, England and Mexico City, Mexico. The firm also maintains working relationships with many law firms throughout South and Central America; the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Sweden and, Norway; Europe and the U.K.; and within the Pacific Rim.

Predecessor firms

The Knight firm was founded in the early days of industry and commerce in Tampa. The Holland firm was established in Polk County, Florida, then a center of citrus production and phosphate mining. In 1968, two law firms merged to form Holland & Knight.

Senator Spessard Holland

A young Spessard Holland declined a contract to pitch for the Philadelphia Athletics and went on to graduate from Emory University in 1912. He was a top student in the University of Florida Law School class of 1916 and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross after an aerial mission behind enemy lines during World War I. Mr. Holland served as county judge eight years after the war, then established a law practice in 1929 with W.F. Bevis in Bartow. In his political career, he served as Florida's governor 1941–1945 during World War II and 24 years as a U.S. Senator 1946–1971. After leaving the Senate in January 1971, he returned to Holland & Knight to practice law until his death in November 1971.

Peter O. Knight

After graduating from Valparaiso University Law School at age 18, Peter O. Knight moved to Fort Myers, Florida, and was elected mayor in 1886 shortly before his 21st birthday. Following service in the Florida Legislature, he settled in Tampa, Florida in 1889, five years after the city was chartered, to start a law practice. In addition to his work as an attorney, Mr. Knight founded TECO Energy, Tampa's present electric utility, and a major bank. Mr. Knight declined President Warren G. Harding's invitation to become a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. When Mr. Knight died in 1946, U.S. Senator Spessard L. Holland was a pallbearer at his funeral—22 years before the names of Holland and Knight would be linked in one of Florida's largest law firms.

Chesterfield Smith

Chesterfield Smith served as managing partner of the combined firm until 1983. He was president of The Florida Bar in 1964-65, and became president of the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1973-74. Mr. Smith served also as Chairman of the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission. During his 55-year professional career, Chesterfield Smith gained notoriety as the outspoken president of the ABA who made an early public call to investigate President Richard M. Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Often called "America's Lawyer" and "the conscience of the legal profession," Chesterfield Smith is responsible for the shared values and core beliefs that earned Holland & Knight's reputation as a law firm that balances profits with public duty.

Selected moments

Political contributions

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Holland & Knight was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.19 million, 59% to Democrats. By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56, 66% to Democrats, while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans. Since 1990, Holland & Knight has contributed $10.47 million to federal campaigns, and spent over $1 million on lobbying since 2001.

Pro bono work

Holland & Knight is known for representing people with legal problems who otherwise would have been denied access to the legal system. Some of their notable pro bono clients include:

Charitable work

Charitable giving is managed and coordinated by the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation, which was established as a 501(c)(3) public charity in 1996. The foundation underwrites several programs that support education, including the Opening Doors for Children reading program, the Holocaust Remembrance Project national essay contest, Young Native Writers Essay Contest for Native American high school students, and Dream Scholarship Essay Contest designed to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prior winners of the Young Native Writers Essay Contest were featured in Indian Country Today.

Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom

Founder and chairman emeritus of Holland & Knight, Chesterfield Smith (1917–2003) was one of the country’s most prominent lawyers, and his name remains one of the most revered in national legal circles. He was the chief architect of Florida’s Constitution. The Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom at the University of Florida Levin College of Law was dedicated on Sept. 21, 2006, by a distinguished group of friends and colleagues of the legendary Chesterfield Smith: U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, UF President Bernie Machen, Levin College of Law Dean Robert Jerry, then Holland & Knight Managing Partner Howell W. Melton, Jr., and Holland & Knight partner and then chair of the firm's Directors Committee Martha Barnett. Smith graduated from the law school in 1948.

Diversity

Holland & Knight has a Diversity Council, mentoring programs, and other diversity-related programs and initiatives. The firm has been recognized by a number of organizations, including:

Industry awards

Legal practice areas

Holland & Knight's legal capabilities span a range of practices, including: