Practice Areas
Three areas. Done well.
The firm focuses on three categories of civil dispute: personal injury, professional malpractice, and employment matters. Focus is deliberate — the cases are different enough to require it, and the people facing them deserve a lawyer who lives in their world.
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Personal Injury
If you or a family member has been seriously hurt because of someone else's carelessness, the firm represents you on a contingency basis — meaning no fee unless and until there's a recovery. Common matters include:
- Motor-vehicle collisions (auto, motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, rideshare)
- Premises liability — slip-and-falls, unsafe conditions on commercial or residential property
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Catastrophic and wrongful-death claims
The first call is free and confidential. Personal-injury cases turn on facts that fade fast — physical evidence, witness memories, surveillance footage — so it usually pays to talk to a lawyer early, even if you're not sure yet whether you want to bring a claim.
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Professional Malpractice
When a professional you hired and trusted — a lawyer, an accountant, a financial advisor, a real estate broker, an architect, an engineer — falls below the standard of care for their field and you suffer harm because of it, you may have a malpractice claim. The firm represents plaintiffs in:
- Legal malpractice (missed deadlines, conflicts of interest, mishandled settlements, failure to follow client instructions)
- Accountant and tax-preparer malpractice
- Financial-advisor and broker negligence, including suitability and churning claims
- Real estate broker and agent malpractice
- Design-professional negligence (architects, engineers, surveyors)
Malpractice cases are technical — they typically require expert testimony, and the standards of care evolve. Howard's training at Latham & Watkins prepared him for exactly this kind of expert-heavy, document-intensive litigation.
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Employment Disputes
California has some of the most employee-protective laws in the country, and yet many workers don't realize what their rights actually are. The firm represents employees and former employees in:
- Wrongful termination, including in violation of public policy
- Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims (FEHA, Title VII, ADA, ADEA)
- Wage-and-hour disputes — unpaid overtime, missed meal and rest breaks, misclassification
- Whistleblower and Labor Code § 1102.5 retaliation
- Severance review and negotiation
- Non-compete, non-solicit, and trade-secret disputes arising out of the employment relationship
Most employment matters benefit from an honest, early conversation about what the case is actually worth, what the timeline looks like, and whether litigation is the right move or whether a well-handled negotiation gets you further faster.
If your matter touches one of these areas but doesn't fit cleanly, please reach out anyway. Civil disputes often cut across categories, and Howard is happy to talk through whether the firm is the right fit — or, if not, to point you toward a lawyer who is.