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Holland & Knight

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Full article adapted from Wikipedia revision 1370674429 by Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting has been adapted; article text and references are retained. Snapshot imported 2026-09-25.
American multinational law firm

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Holland & Knight LLP
HeadquartersTampa, Florida
No. of offices30 U.S., 5 international
No. of attorneys2,174 (2025)
Revenue$2.043 billion(2024)
Date founded1968
FounderSpessard Holland
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitehklaw.com

Holland & Knight LLP is a law firm headquartered in Tampa, Florida, with 35 offices, five of them outside the U.S. It has a significant lobbying practice and, as of 2022, was the 7th-largest US-based law firm with 1,596 attorneys,[1] expanding to 2,174 attorneys as of 2025.[2]

History

Former judge and later US senator Spessard Holland opened a law practice in 1929 as Holland & Bevis.[3] Peter O. Knight, who established his law practice in Tampa in 1889,[4] tried his first case at age 18 and later refused an offer from the Harding administration to be considered for the US Supreme Court.[5] Their namesake firms merged in 1968 to form Holland & Knight.[3]

In 1997 the firm acquired Haight, Gardner, Poor & Havens, making them the 12th-largest law firm in the United States at the time with around 600 attorneys.[6] That number had grown to 840 by 1998 following subsequent acquisitions.[7] Holland & Knight merged with the Dallas-based, 275-attorney Thompson & Knight in 2021, retaining the name Holland & Knight.[8] During the first quarter of 2023, Holland & Knight merged with Nashville-based Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis, resulting in a roster of almost 2,000 attorneys.[9]

During the mid-2020s, Holland & Knight became a noted facilitator of management services organization (MSO) private equity deals with individual law firms, and became a significant component of its legal services transactions practice.[10]

Following the Trump administration's attacks on other Biglaw firms, citing their DEI programs, by May 2025, the firm had removed a significant quantity of related content from its company website.[11]

Lobbying and political contributions

Individuals pre-Holland & Knight

In 1956, Spessard Holland joined eighteen other senators in signing the Southern Manifesto, proclaiming court-ordered school desegregation to be an "unwarranted … abuse of judicial power" and declaring their intention to "resist forced integration by any lawful means."[12] Holland, a former governor and now US senator, was still a partner in the firm of Holland, Bevis, Smith, Kibler and Hall and retained senior partner status in the merger that created Holland and Knight in 1968.[13]

Holland & Knight

Holland & Knight is a registered lobbyist. Its Public Policy & Regulation Group[14] is the third largest lobbying practice in the United States by revenue.[15] Its members have included former US representative Tillie Fowler and former Florida State Senator Curtis Kaiser.[16] Its PAC, Holland & Knight Committee For Effective Government, contributed over $500,000 to Federal Candidates for the Reporting Period 2023-2024.[17] Its work and contributions at the Florida state level are similarly significant.[16]

In 1994, the firm filed a suit on behalf of victims of the 1923 Rosewood Massacre, in which an all-black town was burned and then razed by a white mob, with the deaths of anywhere from 6 to 150 black people. When the suit was dismissed, a team at the firm, led by Martha Barnett, successfully lobbied Florida legislature to appropriate $1.5 million in compensation for the survivors and the descendants of the victims.[18]

In 2002, the firm sought a change in Florida law to ease restrictions on payday lenders. Florida PIRG Director Mark Ferrulo expressed shock that the firm "would represent legalized loan sharks that prey on the most vulnerable populations in Florida."[19]

In 2025, its lobbying practice was noted among the most significant by Bloomberg Government.[20]

Awards and achievements

  • The National Law Journal ranked Holland & Knight as the 14th largest firm in the United States on its 2025 NLJ 500 list, which ranks firms based on size.[21] Based on gross revenue, it was ranked 26th on The American Lawyer’s 2025 AmLaw 200 rankings.[21] The firm has multiple Best Law Firms Tier 1 rankings by Best Lawyers.[22]
  • The firm received national first-tier rankings in the 2013 U.S. News – Best Lawyers Best Law Firms guide in 22 practice areas.[23]
  • More than 130 Holland & Knight attorneys were named in the Chambers USA 2013 guide.[24]
  • Corporate Counsel magazine named Holland & Knight a "2012 Go-To Law Firm" for the top 500 U.S. companies.[25]
  • Holland & Knight ranks among the top-performing law firms that provide superior client service, according to 2013 BTI Consulting Group's annual survey of corporate counsel and C-level executives.[26]
  • Holland & Knight was named one of the world's top trademark law firms in the World Trademark Review 1000 – The Definitive Guide to Trademark Legal Services.[27]
  • Directors & Boards magazine ranked Holland & Knight the nation's top law firm for dealing with director liability issues.[28]
  • The firm was named the Law Firm of the Year in the Washington, D.C., area by the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors three times in the past five years.[29]
  • Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers named Holland & Knight one of 50 "2012 Best Law Firms for Women".[30]
  • The firm earned Gold Standard Certification from The Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) p.[31]
  • The firm ranked third in The American Lawyer magazine's 2012 Diversity Scorecard for the number of Hispanic attorneys.[32]
  • The firm was awarded the "Michael K. Reese Quality of Life Award" by The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division.[33]

References

  1. ^ Zaretsky, Staci (June 21, 2022). "Dueling Rankings Of The Biggest Biglaw Firms In The Country (2022) - Above the Law". Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  2. ^ "Holland & Knight LLP, USA 2025". Chambers Profiles. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Caldwell Names Holland Senator". St. Petersburg Times. September 26, 1946. Retrieved March 9, 2022 – via Google News Archive.
  4. ^ Barnett, Cynthia (January 1, 2006). "Roots vs. Reach - Florida Trend". Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  5. ^ Nancy L. Rachels (1979). "Peter O. Knight: Pioneer and Spokesman for Florida". Sunland Tribune. 5.
  6. ^ "Holland & Knight, Haight Gardner merge". Bizjournal.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  7. ^ "Merger Creates Giant Law Firm". Orlando Sentinel. October 28, 1998. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  8. ^ "Holland & Knight flexes Texas muscles after Thompson & Knight deal". Reuters.
  9. ^ Merken, Sara (January 4, 2023). "Holland & Knight to merge with Nashville law firm in first big 2023 combination". Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  10. ^ Sloan, Karen; Thomas, David (April 24, 2026). "Lawyers, investors mingle at meeting on outside investment in law firms". Reuters. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  11. ^ Patrice, Joe (May 14, 2025). "This Law Firm Had To Delete A LOT To Purge Its Diversity And Pro Bono Work". Above the Law. Retrieved July 24, 2025. Another firm that's trying to hide the initiatives it long celebrated is Holland & Knight.
  12. ^ Badger, Tony (June 1999). "Southerners Who Refused to Sign the Southern Manifesto". The Historical Journal. 42 (2): 517, 527. doi:10.1017/S0018246X98008346. JSTOR 3020998. S2CID 145083004.
  13. ^ "Holland Partner". Tampa Times. Newspapers.com. July 1, 1968. p. 11. Retrieved September 24, 2025. Tampa has a new law firm today, with Sen. Spessard Holland as senior but inactive partner.
  14. ^ washingtonian.com https://www.hklaw.com/en/professionals/g/gold-rich
  15. ^ https://about.bgov.com/insights/public-affairs-strategies/what-are-the-top-10-lobbying-firms-in-the-u-s/#top-federal-lobbying-firms; https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/top-lobbying-firms?cycle=2024
  16. ^ a b "McBride". Tampa Bay Times. Newspapers.com. October 30, 2002. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  17. ^ https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/holland-knight/C00171330/candidate-recipients/2024
  18. ^ MORGAN, LUCY (April 9, 1994). "Lawyers feel thrill of righting a wrong". Tampa Bay Times. Against all odds, lawyers Martha Barnett and Steve Hanlon won an unusual victory … Barnett, an experienced lobbyist, thought there was no chance of winning damages for the survivors of the 1923 Rosewood massacre.
  19. ^ "McBride Firm's Environmental Work is Questioned". Miami Herald. Newspapers.com. October 7, 2002. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  20. ^ "Bloomberg Government". Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Holland & Knight | Rankings, Lawyers & Practice Areas | Law.com". www.law.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  22. ^ "Holland & Knight LLP in US". Best Law Firms. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  23. ^ "U.S. News – Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms". Bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  24. ^ "Chambers USA Announces Rankings for 2013; Holland & Knight Among Nation's Top Law Firms | News | Holland & Knight". www.hklaw.com. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  25. ^ Corporate Counsel's In-House Law Departments at the Top 500 Companies, November 2011
  26. ^ The BTI Consulting Group, 2012
  27. ^ "WTR 1000 - World Trademark Review". Worldtrademarkreview.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  28. ^ Directors & Boards magazine, July 2012
  29. ^ "GWCAR - Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS®". Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  30. ^ "2012 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women | workingmother.com". Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  31. ^ "CERTIFICATION - Women In Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF)". Wilef.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  32. ^ "2015 Diversity Scorecard: Minorities Gain Little Ground - The American Lawyer". Americanlawyer.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  33. ^ "Awards". Flayld.org. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
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