About Derek R.
Derek R. Howard graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Criminal Justice. He went on to earn his J.D. from Nashville School of Law in 2004. Those years set the framework for a legal career rooted in Tennessee courts and federal practice.
He began managing the Howard Law Office in 2004. The firm listing shows him in a leadership role from that year onward. Over time he built a practice that includes courtroom appearances and appellate work. He is admitted to practice in Tennessee and before the Sixth Circuit and the Federal Circuit.
Howard has been involved in local bar activity since early in his career. He is a member of the Rutherford Cannon County Bar Association, a role he has held since 2004. He also served as a member of the Andrew Jackson Inns of Court from 2006 until 2024. Those associations reflect ongoing engagement with peers and the local legal community.
Colleagues describe his approach as straightforward. He favors clear legal writing and practical preparation. In court he relies on procedure and precedent rather than theatrical gestures. Outside of hearings he handles filings, motions, and appellate briefs. He balances trial work and appeals and often moves between state and federal dockets.
Clients and opposing counsel encounter a lawyer who has stayed in one community for many years. That continuity has shaped how he manages cases and communicates expectations. He tends to keep matters focused on discrete legal questions and on the steps necessary to resolve them. His practice includes litigation that originates in Tennessee trial courts and matters that proceed to the Sixth and Federal Circuits for review.
The pattern of education, steady local involvement, and long-running management of his firm defines his professional profile. He has maintained active participation in bar activities and served in Inns of Court over nearly two decades. He currently manages Howard Law Office and practices in Tennessee state and federal courts, including appeals before the Sixth Circuit and the Federal Circuit.
