Talk:Holland & Knight

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Mostly a cut-and-paste from the firm's website

Clearly, a lot of work has gone into repurposing content from the law firm's website, but article currently has a number of problems which I have placed in a consolidated box.

• Global Reach is an inherently POV way of saying "Office Locations". Reasonable people could dispute whether offices clustered on the East Coast of the USA plus China, Mexico, Israel, and Venezuela represent "Global Reach". The section is essentially cut and paste of - Global Reach. I will re-title this section "office locations"
• Rankings and awards section lacks NPOV. It contains only rankings which reflect favorably on the firm. This section would not be an encyclopedia writers first choice for what to say about a subject
• History section of this article is simply an unsourced rehash of the company's own history of itself to be found at Holland & Knight - Our History
• Diversity section is an unsourced reworking of Holland & Knight - Embracing Diversity

KevinCuddeback (talk) 01:20, 26 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Article Contains Inaccurate Informaton

The article seems to imply that Spessard Holland was the first native Floridian to serve as Governor. That is not correct. Holland served as Governor from 1941 to 1945. According to Allen Morris' The Florida Handbook (2001-2002 ed.), the following native Floridians served as Governor of Florida prior to that time:

Frederick Preston Cone (1937-1941), born in Columbia County, Florida Doyle Elam Carlton (1929-1933), born in Wauchula, Florida John Wellborn Martin (1925-1929), born in Plainfield, Marion County, Florida Cary Augustus Hardee (1921-1925), born in Taylor County, Florida Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1905-1909), born in Duval County, Florida Francis Philip Fleming (1889-1893), born in Duval County, Florida William Dunnington Bloxham (1881-1885), born in Leon County, Florida Ossian Bingley Hart (1873-1874), born in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida

The article is in the nature of a commercial advertisement (and an inaccurate one at that). It should be removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by John Paul Parks (talk • contribs) 15:03, 8 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

As numerous as the article's faults are, in the "first floridian" it only is a clarity problem, not a factual one. The article is using a conjunctive "both" (he was the first native Floridian who was both governor and senator...not that he was the first native governor and first native senator). I'll try to fix that. KevinCuddeback (talk) 15:21, 8 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

If the article is attempting to say that he is the first native Floridian to hold both offices, then, assuming that is a true statement, the article does need clarifying, because he was not the first native-born U.S. Senator either. Nathan Philemon Bryan served as U.S. Senator from Florida from 1911-1917, and he was born in present-day Lake County, Florida, and Charles Oscar Andrews served a U.S. Senator from Florida from 1936-1946, and was born in Holmes County, Florida. There may have been others, but citing two examples will demonstrate that Holland was not the first native-born U.S. Senator from Florida. My source for that information is the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress http://bioguide.congress.gov

Thanks for your response and for your efforts.

Diversity

As long as Holland & Knight is going to claim credit for its efforts to promote diversity, I think it should be pointed out that its co-founder, Spessard Holland, was one of the United States Senators who signed the Southern Manifesto in which it was declared that Brown v. Board of Education, the decision which declared racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional, was an "unwarranted decision of the Supreme Court" and was "bearing the fruit always produced when men substitute naked power for established law." I am glad to know that Holland & Knight does not share that view, but I wonder if Mr. Holland ever changed his position on the issue. —Preceding unsigned comment added by John Paul Parks (talk • contribs) 16:12, 8 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I know it's been 15 years, but I found a way to work this into the description of their lobbying on behalf of the Rosewood massacre victims. Julian in LA (talk) 17:01, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Edits to the Page

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered.

Hi, we are an agency that works on behalf of Holland & Knight and noticed some outdated or missing information. We'd like to propose the following updates for accuracy and clarity. We've disclosed our affiliation per Wikipedia’s conflict of interest guidelines.

Proposed changes

Holland & Knight LLP is a multinational law firm with approximately 2,200 attorneys and professional staff in 35 offices worldwide. Founded in Tampa, Florida, the firm practices in dozens of areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, real estate, healthcare and government.[1] History Founded in 1889, Holland & Knight is a law firm that represents clients through more than 200 interdisciplinary practice groups and industry-based teams.[2] In 2021, the firm merged with Thompson & Knight, a Dallas-based, 275-attorney firm, with the successor firm retaining the name Holland & Knight.[3] In 2023 the firm merged with Nashville-based Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis, adding 280 more attorneys.[4] In 2025, The American Lawyer ranked Holland & Knight the No. 26 highest-grossing law firm based in the United States, reporting $2.043 billion in 2024 revenue.[5] Law360 ranked Holland & Knight the fourth-largest U.S. firm by number of attorneys.[6] The firm is led by Robert J. Gramming, chair and chief executive officer, and David C. Whitestone, managing partner, and Tiffani G. Lee, deputy managing partner. They succeeded Steven Sonberg, who served as managing partner from 2008 until 2024.[7] Lobbying practice Holland & Knight’s lobbying practice is one of the busiest in the United States. Based on required disclosures, Bloomberg Government and OpenSecrets reported the firm collected the third-highest amount of revenue for federal lobbying work in 2024.[8] Partner Rich Gold, whom Washingtonian magazine considers one of the “500 Most Influential People of 2025,” leads the firm’s 180-member Public Policy & Regulation Group.[9] Political involvement According to OpenSecrets, Holland & Knight PAC donated $534,318 to federal candidates in the 2023-2024 campaign cycle, 47.72% to Democrats and 52.28% to Republicans.[10] Charitable work In 2024, the firm’s attorneys contributed 78,671 hours of pro bono legal services, according to the firm’s profile in the National Association of Legal Professionals (NALP) directory.[11] The firm is particularly committed to representing U.S. military veterans in need and has received the American Bar Association (ABA) Military Pro Bono Project Outstanding Services Award every year since its inception in 2012.[12] Every year, the firm participates in the 9/11 National Day of Service, which commemorates the victims and survivors of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, through community service.[13] In 2006, the firm raised money for a monument at the World Trade Center site memorializing 343 firefighters killed in the attack’s aftermath.[14] The firm was inspired by firm partner Glenn J. Winuk, a volunteer firefighter from suburban New York who died at Ground Zero after he helped evacuate the firm’s offices nearby and then ran to the Trade Center’s South Tower to help before the building collapsed.[15] Although attorneys have long donated legal services to needy clients, the firm’s pro bono practice was established formally by attorney Stephen Hanlon after he joined the firm in the late 1980s. He served as project director for multiple state studies documenting excessive workloads for public defenders. His work led to legislative reforms, court decisions and national standards for indigent defense. Some of the firm’s pro bono cases include a joint case with the ACLU for death row inmates experiencing unconstitutional conditions of confinement in Mississippi.[16] Hanlon also was involved in a matter stemming from the 1923 Rosewood massacre in rural Levy County, Florida. He worked to get reparations for survivors and their families and credited Holland & Knight colleague Martha Barnett for helping to successfully change the minds of Florida state legislators to secure a $2.1 million dollar settlement for survivors and descendants.[17] The firm’s charitable giving is managed and coordinated by the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation,[18] which was established as a 501(c)(3) public charity in 1996. The foundation underwrites several programs that support education. The firm has long supported Best Buddies, a national nonprofit supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.[19] Holland & Knight raises funds for Best Buddies and is a domestic and international employer of program participants.[20] Notable alumni Greg Baldwin Martha Barnett Ron DeSantis Dante Fascell Joanna Geraghty, CEO of JetBlue John Germany Stephen Grimes Stephen Hanlon Spessard Holland Peter O. Knight Bob Martinez Bill McBride Ashley Moody Awards and achievements 270 Holland & Knight attorneys were named in the Chambers USA 2025 guide [21] Recognized by Global M&A Network as “Americas Private Equity Law Firm of the Year” in 2025[22] Recognized as the top firm for energy-related articles in the 2025 JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards[23] Ranked as a national first-tier law firm in 37 practice areas in the 2025 edition of the Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" guide, along with 272 metropolitan first-tier rankings across 25 of its U.S. offices[24] Recognized by LatinFinance magazine with five Financing of the Year awards in 2024[25] Listed by Law360 as the No. 4 most-sought-after firm for law students seeking summer associate positions in 2025[26] Recognized in Yale Law Women’s “Top Firms Report” in 2024 as a firm that cultivates work environments in which all attorneys can succeed without compromising their personality, values or identity[27] References https://chambers.com/law-firm/holland-knight-llp-usa-5:8471 https://www.hklaw.com/en/services/practices https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/holland-knight-flexes-texas-muscles-after-thompson-knight-deal-2021-08-02/ https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/holland-knight-merge-with-nashville-law-firm-first-big-2023-combination-2023-01-04/ https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2025/04/15/the-2025-am-law-100-ranked-by-gross-revenue/ https://www.law360.com/articles/1838245/the-2024-law360-400 https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2023/06/08/holland-knight-managing-partner-steven-sonberg-to-step-down-after-16-years-at-helm/ 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 https://www.washingtonian.com/2025/05/07/washington-dcs-500-most-influential-people-of-2025/#antitrust; https://www.hklaw.com/en/professionals/g/gold-rich https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/holland-knight/C00171330/candidate-recipients/2024 https://www.nalpdirectory.com/employer_profile?FormID=17746&QuestionTabID=40&SearchCondJSON=%7B%22SearchEmployerName%22%3A%22HOlland%20%26%20Knight%22%7D https://www.militaryprobono.org/probono/item.4084-ABA_MPBP_Outstanding_Services_Awards; https://issuu.com/hollandknight/docs/holland-knight-veterans-group?e=16627326/63333027 https://www.americorps.gov/serve/volunteer/911-day; https://www.hklaw.com/en/general-pages/day-of-service https://www.fdnytenhouse.com/fdnywall/ https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/nyregion/a-handson-tribute-to-the-pain-and-valor-of-911.html https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/appeals-court-affirms-mississippi-death-row-conditions-are-unconstitutional https://vimeo.com/521474355 https://www.guidestar.org/profile/31-1472972 https://www.bestbuddies.org/jobs/participating-employers/ https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/media-entities/2012/03/holland--knight-and-best-buddies-featured-on-comca#:~:text=March%2023%2C%202012-,Holland%20&%20Knight%20and%20Best%20Buddies%20Featured%20on%20Comcast%20Newsmakers,program%20for%20nearly%2020%20yea https://chambers.com/law-firm/holland-knight-llp-usa-5:8471 https://globalmanetwork.com/2019/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/16th-Annual-Americas-MA-Atlas-Awards-Winner-Circle-2025.pdf https://spotlight.jdsupra.com/readerschoice https://www.bestlawfirms.com/firms/holland-knight-llp/96028/US#rankings https://www.hklaw.com/en/news/pressreleases/2024/10/holland-and-knight-receives-five-latinfinance-project https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/2331290target= https://ylw.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/YLW-2024-REPORT-FINAL.pdf

We thank you for your consideration in making these changes. PCContent2025 (talk) 22:08, 3 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done Decline to use the list of Awards and Achievements as failing WP:RELIABILITY. They don't seem to be based on any rigorous process and exist chiefly to promote the organization issuing the award. “Americas Private Equity Law Firm of the Year”, for example, is issued by Global M&A Network, whose chief business is promoting conferences. A Google search turns up no mentions other than their own website and LinkedIn page.

 Not done Decline to use the list of "Notable alumni." See WP:LISTCRIT: "In cases where the membership criteria are subjective or likely to be disputed, it is especially important that inclusion be based on reliable sources given with inline citations for each item." A link to another Wikipedia page is not a source. While these people are notable, there is no indication that their success is owed to their time with the firm. The best example is Ron DeSantis, who is famous as governor of Florida, but hardly anyone reading the national news knows that he was once a member of Holland & Knight. Their achievements during their time with the firm can appropriately be included among the firm's achievements.

I will post more on the other requests presently. Julian in LA (talk) 22:51, 16 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Revised the history section. Removed the existing reference to a headcount of 2,200, as it is sourced only to the firm's website and its inclusion of support staff makes the total meaningless. Even so, it is hard to imagine that 1500 lawyers have only 700 support staff. Julian in LA (talk) 18:07, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done The sections on alumni, awards and charitable work appear to be updates to the existing page. The now out-of-date sections should be removed eventually.

Charitable work: this is a lengthy section that does not show that their commitment is any greater than other firms of their size or have had any effect beyond the benefit to their own client. The description of the Rosewood massacre bill would be an interesting addition to the page, but it is sourced only to a video on Vimeo. Hanlon's biographical page cites the same source. The Wikipedia page on Rosewood massacre does not mention the firm's involvement.

 Done The list of practice areas in the introduction has been removed under WP:LISTCRIT and not replaced by the proposed change. There is no source for the practice areas. There is no indication as to how these items were chosen from among what the firm says are 250 practice areas. The wikilinks in the existing list are to definitions and descriptions of bodies of law, not a description of what is in that practice area. The wikilink for "litigation", for example, goes to Lawsuit, which says nothing about what a litigator in a Biglaw firm does.

The statement that it is a multinational firm has also been removed. The wikilink leads to a page on multinational corporations, which are very different. It has been replaced by a statement that five of their offices are in other countries. Julian in LA (talk) 22:00, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Done The Political Involvement section has been updated and expanded with new research. Julian in LA (talk) 22:59, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Done The reference for compensation for the Rosewood Massacre victims is a Vimeo video that does not meet Wikipedia's reliability requirements. I have rewritten the paragraph with other references and moved it to the section on lobbying, since the ultimate success came from lobbying rather than the lawsuit. I have picked up a suggestion from another commenter from 2008 and added Spessard Holland's support for the Southern Manifesto to show the contrast. Julian in LA (talk) 17:06, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]