Howard was raised in Montvale, New Jersey, the youngest of 5 kids. He spent much of his childhood helping his dad at the family’s excavation and dirt resale business. For his first real job, Howard worked as a pin boy in a bowling alley. He made $2/hour, bowled for free and got a discount on bowling gear. Howard has fond memories of going to bowling leagues on Saturday mornings, getting a sandwich from the deli and watching professional bowlers on TV. Although his high school bowling team was terrible at first, they improved during Howard’s tenure and won county championships and a state sectional tournament. Howard was even featured in the newspaper as All-Bergen County!

Although his dream was to become a professional bowler, Howard happened upon a counselor at his high school who was lost and needed his help finding the guidance office. At the end of the day when he saw her again, she was sad because no one had come and talked to her. When she asked if he was planning on college, he told her that he was going to be a professional bowler.  She told him that the University of Dayton in Ohio had 10 lanes on campus - that sealed the deal. Howard never made it on the Professional Bowlers Tour, but graduated cum laude from University of Dayton with a degree in political science and a focus on a career in law.

In a series of serendipitous events, Howard’s roommate, attracted by a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean on an advertisement for Pepperdine Law School, sent away for a catalog. Howard received that scenic Pepperdine catalog on a cold, wintry day in Dayton so he forwent a pizza and used the $10 to pay the application fee. Howard wanted to study in New England and had already been waitlisted at Vermont Law School, but shortly after learning that there was no room for him there, he got an acceptance letter from Pepperdine, two weeks before school started.

Howard headed to California, never having seen Pepperdine or the Pacific Ocean. At an overnight stop in Des Moines, he called home and found out he had been accepted at Vermont Law School. As he was considering the option of turning around, an 18-wheeler got into a terrible accident on the I-80 and blocked all east bound traffic. He took that as a sign to continue west and drove toward a rainbow in Cheyenne, after weathering through his first tornado in western Nebraska, with Beach Boys playing on his 8-track player.

Howard got his first clerkship going door-to-door in Vista offering to do assignments for free to get his foot in the door. His first motion as a clerk was for summary judgment and it won.  When he graduated from Pepperdine in 1984, the Olympics in Los Angeles sent him to San Diego where he took the Bar Exam at the Kona Kai club and decided he wanted to eventually live there. He passed the Bar Exam and started his career in Orange County where he travelled on major cases including the MGM and Hilton fires in Las Vegas, was trained in insurance coverage, and wrote and argued JNOVs and appeals.  He was successful in a variety of areas including products liability, insurance coverage, construction for professionals and representing fellow lawyers in civil litigation and State Bar matters.

In 1998, Howard landed at Collins + Collins, LLP as lawyer number 13. It proved to be lucky, as he made partner and started their San Diego County Office in 2012. Now he commutes 20 minutes instead of 3 hours roundtrip, and the firm has grown to 80 lawyers, with 5 offices in California and 1 office in Las Vegas. Howard spends his days as a trial attorney at the firm’s San Diego and Orange County offices representing all types of professionals and companies in a variety of matters.

Howard has served on many boards and has authored and lectured on even more topics regionally and nationally. As a “young” elder statesman, Howard maintains a full practice and has served as President of the North San Diego County Bar Association. He innovated new programs for the North County Bar for reciprocal cross-generational mentoring, diversity and inclusion. A Diversity and Inclusion Faire he started with his incredible 2022 Board continues as a traditional event to this day.

When he is not helping shape the careers of young lawyers, Howard is cheering for the Padres, lecturing at St. Patrick’s Church in Carlsbad and is actively involved in the lives of his two adult children, Parker and Sabrina. Parker is a special needs student and an artist. His work is featured throughout the country and celebrated through Art of Autism. He continues his studies at Mira Costa College and is a member of the Artists’ Alliance at the Oceanside Museum of Art.  Sabrina graduated from Simmons College in Boston with a double major in music and business. She is a personal training at LA Fitness and is training for Miss Olympia.

Despite never swinging a club, Howard dedicated much of his time to the San Diego Chapter Golf Event. He currently serves on the Nomination Committee and is encouraged by the energy he sees in the membership of San Diego RIMS.