Holland & Knight

Overview

Holland & Knight is a large, US-headquartered full-service law firm with a long heritage (more than 130 years) and a broad national and international platform. The firm highlights its "one-firm" philosophy, integrated cross-office collaboration and a mix of sophisticated transactional, regulatory and litigation capabilities, with particular strength in public policy & regulation, energy, healthcare, real estate and technology. Holland & Knight combines substantial numbers of lawyers and business professionals with dedicated practice groups (including a public policy group active in Washington) to support clients ranging from Fortune 1000 companies to family offices and governments. The firm emphasises client service, mentoring and career development through programs such as the H&K Institute and firmwide learning resources.

Lawyers: Approximately 2,200
Offices: 36

Values & Culture

Practice Areas

Agriculture & Rural
Corporate & M&A
Energy & Natural Resources
Real Estate
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Employment
Intellectual Property
Technology & Digital
Environment & Planning
ESG & Sustainability
Tax
Banking & Finance
Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Regulatory & Compliance
Public Law
Private Client & Wealth
Financial Services & Regulation
Transport & Logistics
Infrastructure & Projects
Competition & Antitrust
Private Equity & Venture Capital

Geographic Focus: The firm's core strength is its US national platform (offices in major U.S. markets and a substantial Washington, D.C. public policy presence) supplemented by an international footprint including London, Bogotá, Mexico City, Monterrey and Algiers. Holland & Knight operates a "one-firm" model that leverages cross-office teams to deliver work globally, with dedicated policy and regulatory capability centered in Washington and strong regional hubs in Florida, Texas, California and New York.

Training Contract

The firm's career pages emphasise personalised career planning, mentoring and rotation of responsibilities rather than a UK-style training contract structure. For lawyers (associates and laterals) Holland & Knight provides customised integration plans for laterals, formal partner mentors, peer mentors, internal career coaches, formal annual and mid-year evaluations, and access to the H&K Institute for substantive and skills training. The website describes structured training for summer associates and continuing legal education for associates (including 175+ hours of live training annually and 8,500+ on-demand programs).

Academic Requirements: For judicial clerks and experienced hires the firm seeks superior academics, leadership, extracurricular involvement and community commitment; the law student pages emphasise knowledge, skills, drive and values alignment.

Mentorship

Associates are matched with a formal partner mentor upon joining the firm; peer mentors can be identified; mentoring includes lunches, meetings, one-on-one feedback and participation in annual evaluations. The firm also provides an internal career coach available to all lawyers.

Apply on the Holland & Knight website →

Programmes & Schemes

Summer Associate Program

A summer associate programme for law students providing substantive assignments across practice areas, mentorship, hands-on experience on client matters and exposure to varied practice groups to help inform post‑law‑school career decisions.

Judicial Clerk Recruitment

Active recruitment of former federal judicial clerks; the firm offers commensurate credit and compensation for clerkship experience and highlights transition support into firm practice.

Apply →

Notable Matters

Microsoft – Windows‑Linux partnership transaction

Advised Microsoft on a $600 million strategic Windows‑Linux partnership with Novell, supporting the client on legal and commercial aspects of the cross‑platform collaboration.

Technology & Digital

Avaya defence in patent litigation brought by Research In Motion (RIM)

Defended Avaya in a major patent lawsuit brought by Research In Motion, acting on patent litigation strategy and defence work in the telecommunications/technology sector.

Intellectual Property

Ericsson summary judgment victory in WiLAN patent dispute

Obtained a summary judgment for Ericsson resolving patent infringement claims brought by WiLAN, securing dismissal/resolution in complex telecom patent litigation.

Intellectual Property

Digital Realty – data centre acquisition advice

Advised Digital Realty on the acquisition of an existing data centre, including structuring and negotiating the transaction and related financing; the matter referenced an $85 million component in site fee/leasehold interests.

Real Estate

Lyft – employee misclassification litigation defence

Secured a significant victory for Lyft in an employee misclassification class action matter, defending the client on class waiver/enforceability and other employment litigation issues.

Employment

High‑value art collection estate and valuation work (executor representation)

Represented executors of an estate with a contemporary art collection valued in excess of $1 billion, advising on valuation disputes, IRS Art Advisory Panel interactions and related tax and charitable planning.

Private Client & Wealth

What Holland & Knight Looks For

Key Competencies

Commercial awareness
Strong legal writing and analytical skills
Teamwork and collaboration
Client-service orientation
Leadership and initiative
Commitment to community and pro bono
Adaptability to cross-office/remote collaboration
Technical interest for technology/AI practices

Evidence Signals

Judicial clerkships or strong litigation writing experience
Relevant industry experience (e.g., tech/product knowledge for technology group)
Government or public policy experience for Public Policy & Regulation roles
Internships or summer associate experience providing substantive assignments
Demonstrable leadership and community involvement

Benefits & Wellbeing

Comprehensive medical plans (PPO and HDHPs) including domestic partner coverage
Dental and vision plans
Life and AD&D insurance
Short and long term disability insurance
Tax-advantaged accounts (FSAs and HSAs)
Dependent care FSAs
Health advocacy services
Behavioral health and counseling resources for family members
401(k)
Profit sharing (for business professionals)
Backup dependent care
Senior care planning support
Resources for individuals with developmental disabilities and their caregivers
Paid holidays and paid time off, including paid leave for new parents
Excess liability coverage
Extensive training and professional development (H&K Institute, CLE certification for in‑house programmes)

Wellbeing

Behavioral health and counseling resources, health advocacy services, backup dependent care and senior care planning support are offered as part of wellbeing resources.

Awards & Recognition

Law360 Pulse: Ranked 4th in the Top 25 'Dream Firms' for Summer Associates (2025)
Chambers Associate: Endorsed Firms - included in 2025 survey
Florida Trend: 'Best Companies To Work For In Florida' (listed for 2025, referenced on Tallahassee office page)

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Holland & Knight is an Equal Opportunity Employer and states it does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions, transgender status and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status or any other factor prohibited by law.

DEI Task Force

Innovation

The firm runs an internal software‑capable team (HKLab) that pairs legal and coding skills, a global learning network (H&K Institute) for continuous learning and subject-matter training, and sector-specific tools such as a Health AI Navigator. Holland & Knight positions legal technology and policy engagement as firm priorities, blending technical know-how with policy/regulatory advisory work; trainees and lawyers can access training on legal technology, AI policy and cross-discipline projects.

HKLab (lawyers who code)
H&K Institute
Holland & Knight Health AI Navigator
Greenwashing Mitigation Team
Project Glasswing

Quick Application Angles

Highlight demonstrable commercial awareness tied to a sector the firm services (e.g., healthcare, energy, technology or public policy) and reference a recent firm initiative or insight (for example: the firm's Healthcare & Life Sciences work or Agriculture & Food Policy podcasts) to show sector fit.
If applying to technology or AI groups, reference hands‑on technical understanding (coding projects, datasets, AI policy work) — the firm operates HKLab and emphasises lawyers with technical literacy.
For public policy or regulatory roles, emphasise prior Capitol Hill/government experience or regulatory engagement and mention the firm's 'Eyes on Washington' podcasts or Public Policy & Regulation work to demonstrate alignment.
Demonstrate strong legal writing skills and provide writing samples or clerkship experience where possible — the firm places explicit emphasis on legal writing development through its training programmes.
Show examples of collaborative, cross‑office work or teamwork; Holland & Knight promotes a one‑firm approach and personalised integration plans for laterals — evidence of successful cross‑functional teamwork will resonate.