By Patience Idegwu
Seattle Medium Intern
Attorney Lembhard G. Howell, known as a “Knight in Shining Armor” in legal circles, recently received the Outstanding Lawyer Award from the King County Bar Association.
According to the Loren Miller Bar Association’s (LMBA) website, “[Howell’s] landmark lawsuits in Washington have made him a legend and arguably one of the best civil rights attorneys in the United States.”
Originally born in Jamaica, Howell’s family moved to New York where he graduated with honors from Lafayette College in 1958. After serving in the military from 1958-1962, Howell attained his law degree from New York University School of Law.
Howell began his legal career as a law clerk for the Washington State Supreme Court, and later became an assistant Washington State Attorney General.
He eventually went into private practice and teamed up with John Miller, a former congressman, to form his first law firm called Miller and Howell. Howell later went on to start his own law firm and also help found the Loren Miller Bar Association, Washington State’s African American Bar, which was established to meet the needs of the African American community and provide support to African American law students.
“It would have been easy for Howell to rest in the suburbs and abandon law student like me or the African American community,” said King County Superior Court Judge Leroy McCullough, who worked as law clerk for Howell early in his career. “He didn’t. He joined with the other few Black attorneys in this area to form the historic Loren Miller Bar Law Club.”
Throughout his career, Howell has focused on fighting for justice and has been a significant figure in many civil right cases. He served as lead counsel in the case of Central Contractors Assoc. v. Local Union, which ultimately caused Washington’s trade labor unions to open their doors to minority applicants who had historically been excluded from the construction industry. He also served as one of the named plaintiffs when the LMBA joined in a civil rights suit against the State of Washington to ensure equal educational opportunities for minority school children.
Howell did everything in his might to fight for the rights of his community, and according to Judge McCullough, he was not afraid of police or prosecutors. He was that attorney that would ask questions that no one else would ask.
In addition to being a lawyer, Howell was also a lecturer to students like Judge McCullough, and was a writer, an educator, a mentor, worked on community service projects and was involved with many different organizations.
McCullough recalls one of the first cases that he worked on as a law clerk for Howell, a police shooting of an African American man in Seattle’s Central Area.
“The family retained Howell to pursue justice and that he did with all of his might,” stated McCullough. “I was encouraged by his analytical approach to the disturbing photo images of this young man whose life had ended far too early. Howell did not see the young man as a statistic, but as a person whose life potentially had been unfairly snuffed out.”
McCullough was encouraged by Howell’s approach in the matter, as he looked at the bigger picture of things and the greater goal.
According to McCullough, Howell continues to fight for justice and advocate for a legal system that is “better, more inclusive and fair to African-Americans and to all community members.”
Even though many people may not know him personally, Howell’s great contributions to the community have made him a legend and a fighter for justice. He has been named many times on the list of the Best Lawyers in America, and his impact on the lives of others is immeasurable.
“Howell has kept that greater goal at the forefront throughout his entire life and career, stated Judge McCullough. “This honor [Outstanding Lawyer Award] is well deserved.”
