Holland & Knight LLP is a multinational law firm with nearly 2000 attorneys and professional staff worldwide. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, the firm has a number of different practices areas, including litigation, corporate law, real estate, construction law, and intellectual property.

History

Holland & Knight was formed in 1968 after the merger of the firms established by Spessard Holland and Peter O. Knight. Chesterfield Smith was the managing partner of the new venture until 1983. In 1997 the firm acquired Haight Gardner Poor & Haven, making them the 12th largest law firm at the time with 600 attorneys. That number had grown to 840 by 1998 following subsequent acquisitions. Holland & Knight merged with the Dallas-based, 275-attorney Thompson & Knight in 2021, retaining the name Holland & Knight. By 2022 it had become the 7th-largest US-based law firm with 1,596 attorneys.

Political involvement

According to OpenSecrets, 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 million, 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.

Charitable work

Holland & Knight occasionally takes on pro-bono work, including a joint case with the ACLU for death row inmates experiencing unconstitutional conditions of confinement in Mississippi 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 the 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.

Awards and achievements