By Tom Kirvan
Legal News

One day, early in her career at Collins Einhorn, Kellie Howard was told something by a longtime senior partner that foreshadowed her upward trajectory with the Southfield law firm.

“He told me that one day I was going to be in charge of this place,” Howard said of the comment from Mike Sullivan, who at the time was serving as president of firm that marked its 50th anniversary in 2021.

In January of this year, Sullivan’s prediction rang true as Howard became the chief executive officer of Collins Einhorn, assuming a leadership role in which she will share managerial responsibilities with attorney Donald Campbell, the recently appointed president of the firm.

“It certainly gave me a boost of confidence when Mike told me that,” admitted Howard, a product of Michigan State University who earned her juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 2005. “He saw my potential early and was the first person at the management level to say it.”

Howard and Campbell succeed Dan Collins and Theresa Asoklis as co-managing partners of the firm that was founded in 1971 and now numbers more than 120 employees.

“Kellie is a natural communicator, which makes her a great lawyer, and more importantly, an impactful leader,” said Sullivan, a past president of the Oakland County Bar Association.

“She articulates the mission – whether it’s the direction of a case she is handling or for the direction for the law firm – with ease.

“We felt fortunate when we got a resume from Kellie years ago,” Sullivan declared. “Her MSU and Georgetown Law background impressed us then, and she grew into an even better lawyer than we anticipated. She was able to handle anything we threw at her and has grown to be a leader in the profession and in the firm.

“Kellie and her co-managing partner Don Campbell are the fourth generation of leadership at Collins Einhorn.  So, while they don’t have to start from scratch, we expect that they will leave their own mark on the firm and take it to yet another level.”

A graduate of Ann Arbor Huron High School, Howard is the youngest woman of color to hold a CEO position at a “majority owned law firm” in Michigan, a fact that speaks to the nature of Collins Einhorn.

“That’s how our firm is,” Howard said. “It’s a place where anyone with the will and talent can succeed.”

In that vein, Howard said she will focus with Campbell on a “strategic expansion of the firm to reach new markets, to fortify longstanding client relationships, and to bolster a culture of progress and inclusion” that has helped propel its growth and success.

“Being in a managerial role like this has its own challenges, since I want to set the proper leadership tone while also handling my own book of business and being the best mother that I can to my children,” said Howard, now in her 10th month as CEO. “It’s a steep learning curve where I think it is important to take a deliberate approach and to be very sober-minded when making key decisions. I’ve always tried to be mindful of the message to be slow to speak, slow to offend, and quick to listen.”

The message, undoubtedly, was imparted by her parents, Beverly and Clifton. Her mother, who died in 2002 of cancer, was a social worker who made her mark at the University of Michigan, where the Beverly Jean Howard Award for Excellence in Social Work is presented annually to a deserving recipient.

“My mother was a powerful and positive force in life who died the day before I started law school,” Howard related. “She taught me and my two sisters so many valuable lessons about how to treat people and how to be of service to others. She was an amazing role model.”

Howard’s father spent the bulk of his career as a corrections officer before transitioning into the ministry at New Beginnings Christian Center in Ypsilanti.

“My parents always stressed the importance of faith and it has been a guiding force throughout my life,” said Howard, who rose through the ranks of Girl Scouting as a youth.

One of three children, the 44-year-old Howard was a victim of bullying during high school, a fact that impacted her academic performance.

“Let’s just say that I wasn’t an over-achiever by any means,” Howard declared. “I finally snapped out of it during my senior year when I got straight As. If you looked at my high school transcript it resembled a ‘V,” which meant that I had to rally if I was going to get into a decent college.”

After graduating with honors from Michigan State, Howard set her sights on attending law school in New York, Chicago, or Washington, D.C., eventually earning admission to Georgetown University Law Center where she learned from the likes of such professors as Neil Katyal, a best-selling author and former Acting Solicitor General of the United States, and noted Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.

“In my first year of law school, I was really struggling in the aftermath of my mother’s death,” Howard acknowledged. “I remember meeting with Congresswoman Norton at her office on Capitol Hill and she just took me by the shoulders and told me, ‘You can do this,’ which was just the kind of encouragement I needed to get myself back on track. It was one of those moments in life that was incredibly impactful and gave me the shot of confidence I needed to overcome all that had happened. Her willingness to reach out and to show some compassion for someone she barely knew really stuck with me.”

Which is why Howard is more than willing to share the ups and downs of her journey with others, especially high school students who might be interested in pursuing a legal career.

Earlier this year, she spoke to a group of students at Detroit Edison Public School Academy about her route to the top of one of the largest law firms in Metro Detroit.

“One of the students asked me how often I go out and speak to students like them,” Howard recalled. “I told him, ‘As often as I can.’

“I explained that part of the reason I worked so hard to get where I am is because I thought of people like him and all of those other students who need to see faces like mine,” she noted. “I have dreams and plans as a leader of this great law firm. But I also have a vision for a future of the legal industry that includes the kids who need to know that they belong here too. I am proud to walk beside my partners and the lawyers at my firm who have the same vision. If we only live in the world and don’t bother to make it better, we have failed as leaders.”

As a single mother of three children – Kassidy (14), Blake (12), and Liam (10), Howard does her best to strike the proper work-life balance, knowing the importance of setting a good example for others at her firm to follow.

“Work can be all-consuming at times, but we must not overlook our parenting responsibilities, particularly during the school-age years when children are faced with so many social and academic challenges.

“And the proper work-life balance has become even more important after COVID in terms of our ability to hire and retain top legal talent,” Howard added. “As a law firm, we have had to pivot to address the needs of the current generation of lawyers otherwise we run the risk of seeing them go elsewhere where their expectations are met. Obviously, our goal is to attract the best and to see them develop and flourish during their career here. We’re committed to helping make that happen.”