Biography

Howard W. Holden is the Fort Myers Managing Partner and has over 30 years of trial litigation experience. Martindale-Hubbell and his peers have also rated him AV® Preeminent™. Howard's practice is devoted largely to general liability, auto, trucking, construction defect cases including prime contractors, subs, A&E, design, delay and water intrusion, as well as traffic control plans, and ADA code compliance, premises liability, negligent security, catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters. He also handles insurance law and coverage matters, products liability and commercial litigation cases.

Prior to his legal career, Howard was a law enforcement officer with two major South Florida departments. He was also the owner of a corporate security consulting firm providing loss prevention, risk management and specialized investigative services to businesses, insurance companies and financial institutions. He also served as a former Assistant Director of Corporate Investigations for a major commercial polygraph and corporate investigations firm based in Miami.

Many of his trucking liability cases involve catastrophic injuries, wrongful death and/or cargo loss that arise from motor carrier collisions. He represents trucking liability insurers, transportation companies and self-insured motor carriers engaged in interstate and intrastate commerce. He is a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA), an organization dedicated to reducing the cost of claims and lawsuits. Howard's negligent security cases involve shootings, stabbings, sexual assaults and/or aggravated batteries occurring on a wide variety of both commercial and residential properties. His extensive background in investigations and law enforcement makes Howard a vast resource in negligent security matters. His clients include insurers, shopping malls and centers, grocery stores, retail stores, apartment buildings, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and movie theaters.

Howard graduated from Nova Law School in 1989. He earned his M.B.A. and B.A. in Politics and Public Affairs from the University of Miami. He is an approved instructor for Adjuster Law and Policy, Adjuster Ethics and Adjuster Optional courses by the Florida Department of Financial Services. He was a workshop panelist at a first-party attorney seminar at the Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention, Ocala, Florida, and was a guest lecturer on the topic of Access Control, and ID Systems at the Broward County Criminal Justice Institute’s Security Officer Training Academy.

Howard was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1989. He is also a member of the United States District Court, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

Link to Rating and Review Comments by his peers on Martindale-Hubbell.

Practice Areas

Practice Areas

• Auto & Fleet Liability
• Boating | Maritime
• Construction Defect
• Commercial Litigation
• Directors & Officers
• First Party Property
• General Liability
• Government Liability
• Insurance Coverage
• Liquor Liability
• Negligent Security
• Premises Liability
• Professional Liability | E&O
• Product Liability
• Roadway Construction
• Trucking Liability

Experience

Martindale Rating

• AV® Preeminent^TM

Awards & Honors

• Named South Florida Legal Leaders (ALM) 2013.
• Goodwin Research Fellowship

Bar/Court Admission

• 1989, Florida Supreme Court.
• 1990, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida.
• 1999, United States District Court, Middle District of Florida.
• 2012, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.
• 2004, United States Supreme Court.

Education

• University of Miami, B.A., 1980
• University of Miami, M.B.A., 1985
• Nova Southeastern University, J.D., 1989

Professional/Civil Memberships

• Member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA)
• Florida Defense Lawyers Association (FDLA)
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM)
• American Society for Industrial Security
• American Bar Association
• Lee County Bar Association
• Palm Beach County Bar Association
• Broward County Bar Association

Industries Represented

Verdicts

Verdicts

Presentations

Presentations and Speaking Engagements

Publications

Articles