origins of “Wise Counsel & Tireless Advocacy”:

Our firm was founded by Virginia Beach native, Jeff S. Howell, Jr. in 2014. When Jeff graduated law school, the thought of hanging his own shingle made sense because his family has founded and operated small businesses for several generations; including farms, mills, and most recently construction companies. Jeff spent nearly every summer of his youth working for his father’s construction company before transitioning into legal practice. This unique experience made Jeff a natural advocate for the sort of challenges faced by self-employed tradesmen and other small, local and family-owned businesses because his family has lived them. With those values as a foundation, Jeff began like so many of his clients by spending his life savings to outfit a small one-room office in his home. From that humble beginning, Jeff’s practice has grown into an experienced and dedicated team of professionals tirelessly advocating for clients across Hampton Roads.

The primary problem Jeff went into practice to solve was to address the shortage of affordable legal solutions available to individuals and small and mid-sized businesses often overlooked by commercial law and civil litigation firms. To solve for this problem, our firm developed a two-fold practice philosophy which sets it apart from other law firms:

First, we believe in the power of wise counsel to avoid costly legal problems before they arise through careful preventative lawyering. We pride ourselves in creating value for individuals and businesses alike by taking the time necessary to learn your vision and your essential interests so we can work with you to craft and fortify them into a sustainable reality.

Second, we believe that, despite even the best planning, some battles simply must be won in court. That is why we firmly believe there is no substitute for zealous trial advocacy. Our experience has taught us that the advocate who is more prepared and more willing to go to trial usually gets superior results for his clients. Legal battles are risky, combative affairs which consume a great deal of a client’s energy, resources, attention, and time. Such a campaign is hardly justified for anything other than an essential interest. That is why we pride ourselves in helping you weigh its costs versus what it can achieve for you or your business so that you can decide in advance whether to commit to the fight. In such situations, our reputation for exhaustive trial preparation and aggressive, ethical advocacy is an invaluable asset to any legal cause.

Whatever your legal needs and challenges, the Law Office of Jeff S. Howell, Jr. stands ready to provide wise counsel to fortify your positions and tireless advocacy to fight for your essential legal interests.

Our Advocates’ creed

We are legal advocates that revere our profession and have a passion for justice. We believe that the practice of law is not a mere occupation but a noble calling. We keep our faith, our values, and our desire to serve our community at the center of all we do. We champion truth, right wrongs, and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Our mission is to ensure that promises made are promises kept, that duties assumed are duties observed, and that legal harms done are remedied by those responsible. We represent local businesses, builders, tradesmen, and individuals each with equal, energetic enthusiasm.

In our advocacy, we strive to forge durable solutions to longstanding conflicts between people of goodwill, but we are unafraid to aggressively confront bad faith actors in the prosecution or defense of our clients’ essential interests. To those who desire peace, we are invaluable assets. To those who seek to lie, cheat, steal, or harm we are formidable adversaries. We will always be impeccably prepared, we will never be outworked, and we will never be intimidated into retreating from any position of merit.

Our team has a reputation for grit and resourcefulness. We pride ourselves in using our talents not only to win battles in court, but also to assist forward-thinking clients with innovative solutions to avoid legal problems before they arise. We strive always to be good stewards of our clients’ hard-earned resources by doing all we can to ensure the fees we charge are exceeded by the value our efforts create.

We are steadfast in our values and our faithful observation of the highest standards of professional ethics. We will never perpetrate or tolerate unlawful, unethical, or untruthful conduct from adversaries, clients, colleagues, or courts.

Our team is on a mission to champion prosperity and justice in our Commonwealth by providing greater access to innovative legal solutions, wise counsel, and tireless advocacy for essential interests.

How can our advocates create value for you?

Our Team

Jeff S. Howell, Jr., Esq.
President and Founder

Kelli Kelly
Paralegal and Office Manager