Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC cover photo

Howard & Howard is a full-service law firm with a national and international practice that provides legal services to businesses and business owners. The firm has offices in Royal Oak, Michigan; Illinois (Chicago and Peoria); Las Vegas, Nevada; and Beverly Hills, California. 

From our founding above a blacksmith shop in 1869 to the full-service law practice we’ve become in the 150 years since, we have consistently sought to earn each client’s trust by always keeping one eye on the finish line and the other on the bottom line. 

Rather than being merely a collection of silos, Howard & Howard is known for its integrated, multifunctional units, all of which are dedicated to providing well-rounded representation and advice. This approach exemplifies our culture. 

Drawing from their vast qualifications and business backgrounds, our attorneys pool their talents into cross-disciplinary teams, combining creativity, practicality, and a cost-conscious approach to better serve each client as a whole. Because our lawyers are sound businesspeople, we operate more efficiently and entrepreneurially. We’re the firm our clients respect, want to work with, and choose to retain over the long term. 

Regardless of where you are in the business life cycle and whether your needs involve transactions, disputes, regulatory compliance, or intellectual property, Howard & Howard is the law firm of choice.

About Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC

Founded in 1869

5 Offices

304 people in their team


Practice areas
Business
Media, Technology and Telecoms
Intellectual Property
Real Estate
Employment & Labor

Languages spoken
English

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Practice areas

Business

At Howard & Howard, our business is business—your business—with experience across virtually all product and service industries in both the old and new economies. Our clients include freelancers and small family-owned businesses as well as publicly traded corporations and international conglomerates, and they rely on our team of corporate lawyers to protect their interests and get deals done.

We advise organizations throughout their life cycles, starting with the choice of a proper entity:

  • Sole proprietorship
  • Limited liability company (LLC)
  • C corporation
  • S corporation
  • General and limited partnership
  • Limited liability partnership (LLP)
  • B corporation
  • Low-profit limited liability company (L3C)
  • Non-profit corporations and 501(c)(3) charities

As the enterprise and its operations grow, so do the scope of services we provide and the close ties we form with our clients. More than just outside general counsel, we strive to be an outside business partner, working side by side with owners, officers, directors, managers, and employees to address:

  • Corporate governance
  • Shareholder relations
  • Ownership and succession planning
  • Employer-employee relationships
  • Employee benefits and executive compensation
  • Mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures
  • Financing and creditor relations
  • Federal, state, and local taxation
  • Divestitures, dispositions, and dissolution
  • Creditors’ rights including workouts and bankruptcy
  • Antitrust challenges
  • Regulatory, privacy, and insurance matters
Contract
Due Diligence
Employer
Franchising
Government Contract
International
Investment
Legal Document
Licensing
Merger & Acquisition
New Business Formation
Venture Capital
Tax
Securities
Environment
Gaming
Health Care
Antitrust
Banking & Finance
Business Registration

Media, Technology and Telecoms

Data privacy and cybersecurity are at the forefront of compliance issues facing businesses throughout every industry.

Howard & Howard has built a team of attorneys with training and experience in data privacy laws, in both the United States and abroad, who can help businesses stay compliant with the rapidly changing legal environment. 

Armed with both legal and technical knowledge, we represent the industries that find themselves on the front line of cyber threats and data theft risks:

  • Banking and financial
  • Insurance 
  • Healthcare
  • Government
  • Education
  • Internet and online

One of the largest areas of concern regarding compliance with data and information privacy laws is what your vendors and subcontractors are doing with the information you provide them. To minimize clients’ third-party privacy exposure, we anticipate, address, avoid, and mitigate risk through services such as:

  • Drafting and negotiating vendor and subcontractor agreements
  • Training on legal compliance with data protection laws
  • Preparation and review of public privacy notices and website disclosures and terms and conditions
  • Drafting of internal privacy policies
  • Risk assessment and compliance management services including auditing, investigating, and reporting
  • Data breach crisis management
  • Complex litigation arising from consumer complaints
  • Administrative actions brought by governmental authorities concerning alleged data protection failures
  • Trans-national transfers of data to and from the U.S. including compliance with EU-US Data Privacy Shield
  • Advising and defending employers concerning employee privacy rights
  • Mergers and acquisitions due diligence
  • Emerging technology guidance including blockchain

Data breaches or failure to adhere to the ever-increasing number of privacy laws and regulations can lead to significant liability, either through lawsuits or government enforcement actions. When such actions arise, we have experienced litigators to protect your rights and your company’s interests. 

Our relationships with technical service providers supplement our legal counsel and aid in compliance with the numerous laws facing all businesses. Forming a comprehensive team, we are able to provide guidance with laws both at home and abroad. Privacy compliance is no longer a luxury—it is a legal necessity. Clients depend on the data privacy and cybersecurity attorneys at Howard & Howard to help navigate today’s complex compliance landscape.

Cyber Law, Data Privacy and Data Protection

Intellectual Property

Creativity and innovation drive change. Whether your new ideas translate into products, processes, or works of art and authorship, it’s critical to safeguard those assets. That’s where Howard & Howard’s team of intellectual property attorneys step in. We not only help clients determine if and how to protect their innovations, but also devise strategies for monetizing and commercializing their work.

Our experienced engineers-turned-attorneys have backgrounds in mechanical, chemical, electrical, and aerospace engineering, and are admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. From the drawing board to the negotiation table to the courtroom, our intellectual property lawyers counsel and provide representation across the following spectrum of domestic and international IP topics:

  • Patent prosecution and litigation
  • Trademark and service mark registration
  • Copyright protection
  • Licensing and merchandising agreements
  • Trade name and corporate name selection
  • Trade secret, nondisclosure, non-competition, anti-solicitation, and anti-piracy
  • Technology acquisitions, sales, and transfers
  • Joint development agreements
  • Technology audits related to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and dispositions
  • Truth-in-Advertising, unfair competition, and unfair trade
  • Privacy and publicity rights
  • International, regional, and bilateral agreements
Copyright
Patent
Trademark

Real Estate

We all need some space—for houses and subdivisions, condominiums and apartment buildings, stores, offices, hospitals, manufacturing plants, farmland, sports venues, hotels and restaurants, schools, etc. When you consider all the factors and potential pitfalls inherent to modern commercial, industrial, and residential real estate transactions, you’ll recognize the importance of having Howard & Howard’s real estate attorneys on your side.

From single-parcel homeowners to Fortune 500 companies with extensive real estate portfolios, we provide advice on the wide variety of property interests held by our clients acting as:

  • Commercial, industrial, and residential buyers and sellers
  • Landlords and tenants
  • Homeowner and condominium associations
  • Builders and developers
  • Contractors and trades
  • Lenders and investors
  • Brokers and agents
  • Property and portfolio managers
  • Retailers, wholesalers, and warehousers
  • Tax-exempt and religious organizations
  • Power plant and solar/wind farm developers/operators
  • Hazardous waste disposal facility operators
  • Gas pipeline and power transmission developers
  • Niche use owners including social, equestrian, canine, and yacht clubs
Commercial Real Estate
Housing, Construction & Development
Landlord & Tenant
Land Use & Zoning

Employment & Labor

Our attorneys understand that minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities within a business are critical to the client’s bottom line. We strive to act as a driving force in workplace law, helping clients achieve their business goals.

The attorneys in Howard & Howard’s labor, employment, and immigration practice draw from their experience as in-house counsel, human resources/labor relations representatives, and business leaders to guide clients through the employer-employee relationship. Our team provides counsel on a range of topics including:

  • Hiring, interviewing, employment applications, and offer letters
  • FCRA compliance, credit and criminal background checks, and pre-hire investigations
  • Employment contracts and arbitration provisions
  • Non-competition, non-solicitation, and trade secret protections
  • Employment handbooks, policies, and protocols
  • FMLA and ADA leave and reasonable accommodations
  • Compensation and FLSA compliance including employee classification
  • Employee benefits including PPACA, COBRA, ERISA, and HIPAA requirements
  • Retirement incentive programs
  • Performance improvement plans, disciplinary actions, termination letters, and severance agreements
  • Plant closings, layoffs, and reductions in force
  • Affirmative action and EEOC compliance
  • Design and implementation of risk management programs
  • Independent investigations
  • HR training and workshops for supervisors and managers

When employee disagreements turn into formal disputes, we empower our clients to negotiate from a position of strength. If dialogue and negotiation do not resolve the dispute, we aggressively defend, try, and arbitrate cases across the country. Howard & Howard attorneys also provide strategic and effective representation before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and state civil rights and employment relations agencies. We pursue and defend our clients’ interests in actions involving:

  • Sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims
  • Discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, national origin, or any other protected status
  • Violations of the FMLA, Equal Pay Act, ADA, OSHA, and other federal and state statutes
  • Workforce reductions, layoffs, and related WARN Act obligations
  • Wage and hour violations including FLSA and state overtime laws
  • Breach of employment contracts including non-compete and non-solicit agreements
  • Wrongful discharge
  • Whistleblower retaliation
  • Employee class actions

Traditional labor law is an area unto itself; a distinct niche within employment law. Our attorneys represent both public sector and private sector employers on labor relations matters, such as:

  • Collective bargaining agreements
  • Grievances and employment arbitrations
  • Union avoidance
  • Union elections
  • Unfair labor practice charges
  • Work stoppages
  • Unit clarification petitions

Like labor law, immigration is a discrete area of employment law in which Howard & Howard boasts substantial skill and experience. Identifying and onboarding foreign workers are critical for many companies. Our immigration law attorneys assist employers with:

  • Complying with I-9 obligations and federal and state E-Verify requirements
  • Obtaining permanent residency for foreign personnel to work in the U.S.
  • Obtaining nonimmigrant visas including United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement visas, L-1 nonimmigrant visas for intracompany transferees, E visas for treaty traders and investors, and H-1B temporary skilled worker visas
  • Obtaining naturalization to U.S. citizenship
  • Obtaining visas for employees’ dependents

We understand that unpredictable and urgent questions arise; we also understand that you rely on dependable and timely strategic solutions. To achieve your goals, we actively partner with your human resources and legal teams to learn your business, your practices, and your priorities, and to provide cost-effective solutions on your timeline.

Employment Rights
Job Discrimination
Labor Law
Retirement
Hiring & Firing
Wage & Hour
Wrongful Termination
Whistleblower & Qui Tam
Sexual Harassment

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