Firm Overview

Thomas L. Howard is a Trial Lawyer with extensive experience in Personal Injury Litigation. Born in Logan, Utah and raised in Los Angeles, he was admitted to practice law in Utah in 1979 and in Florida in 1983.  His litigation skills support an exemplary record of meeting conflicts, having chaired the First Utah Mediation Conference held in SLC in 1990.  He is a former FBI agent with 10 years experience in aerospace, writing and negotiating Government Contracts.

Mr. Howard has honed his abilities both through insurance defense and plaintiff’s practice trial work and as in-house staff counsel for the Travelers Insurance Company.  His many years as a professional University and community educator have developed special empathy and caring relationships with clients, colleagues and juries alike.

OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU

Knowing how to determine if a lawyer is a good lawyer is a basic survival skill.  Clients often go through lawyers like shoes, looking for one without holes.  The process wastes time and money and often affects the results the client desires.

Lawyers are advocates.  Good Lawyers are good advocates.   A good lawyer will achieve what the client wants, not what the lawyer chooses.  Clients can measure lawyers using these proven conventions common to effective lawyers:

1. Phone calls are returned the same day.
2. The lawyer will call the client often to explain what is happening, not forcing the client to call.
3. The client is made to feel that the lawyer works for him or her, not the other way around.
4. The lawyer asks the client what the client wants.
5. Legal Skills include an ability to peacefully resolve problems.
6. The lawyer treats the client’s money as though it were his or her own.
7. The lawyer knows that voluntary agreements between parties are far more effective than courtroom mandates.
8. A good lawyer understands that the client can always go elsewhere for help.
9. A good lawyer is not afraid to litigate and will go to trial, when necessary.
10. A satisfied clients understands what the lawyer is doing and has done and why.

If a lawyer ignores these axioms, you are probably not satisfied.  If you are not happy with your lawyer, the lawyer can’t be a good one.

LEVERAGE

Whether an insurance company refuses to pay what you think you are entitled to receive, your spouse has unfair bargaining power over you, your employer won’t honor your rights or you think the police have taken advantage of you, leverage makes all difference.  An attorney can give you the leverage you need to even up the scales.  That’s why scales have long been the symbol of justice, with the weaker party’s lawyer adding the weight to the dispute to level the playing field.