Robert E. Howard, Sr. was born in Raleigh, where he has lived all his life, except when he was in school at UNC Chapel Hill. He is renowned for his commanding personality and elephantine memory for numbers relevant to his cases. His financial acumen has served him and his clients well in his role as his client’s litigation counsel as well as overseeing his law office. When he is not hard at work on a particular case, he enjoys spending time with his five grandchildren, playing tennis and running. He currently lives in Raleigh with his wife of fifty-one years, Janet, whom he met in UNC Chapel Hill as an undergraduate and married while they were in graduate and professional schools.
Among his peers, Robert is regarded as a skillful, capable and knowledgeable advocate. Robert has published peer-reviewed articles on alimony, child social services and challenging the family law system. He is a sought-after lecturer at the CPA Law Forum, where he has discussed advances in accounting and the law and demonstrated cross and direct examination technique of professional witnesses, presided over by former Court of Appeals or Superior Court Judges.
He has been President of the Raleigh Civic Symphony, a member of the Bach Festival Board, a founding Board Member of the Raleigh Contemporary Art Museum, a board member of Cinema, Inc., a member of the YMCA, a member of the Broughton High School Alumni Association, a member of the Raleigh Good Ole Boys, a member of the University Club, a member of the North Carolina Museum of Art, and a member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, where he has served as head of stewardship and lectionary leader.
Robert attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Law School and graduated in 1970. Robert was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1970, the US. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina in 1971 and the U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina in 1973.
Upon graduation, Robert was in charge of the Legal Aid Program in Wake County for two years before going into private practice, which grew into his membership in the present law firm of Howard, Stallings, From & Hutson, PA. He left the firm at the end of 1993 in order to concentrate in the field of Family Law. He remains close to the members of his old firm. During his period as the legal aid head, he also did some part time prosecuting in the Wake County Courts, which was invaluable experience.
He is a member of the Wake County Bar Association where he has served on various committees. He has been active in the North Carolina Bar Association in the Family Law Section. The Family Law Section is a large group of domestic lawyers within the North Carolina Bar Association. He has been a member of the Family Law Counsel, the leadership of this section, and served as N.C. Legislative Chairman, wherein he lobbied for or against bills in the legislature of interest to family law practitioners and approved by the North Carolina Bar Association. Robert has spoken and presented papers at several seminars for the North Carolina Bar Association, including “The Alimony Complaint” and “Challenging Social Services, Family Law in Bush’s America, Challenging the System,” North Carolina Family Law Specialist Group, speaker 2005.
As stated earlier, Robert has especially enjoyed his work in trial demonstrations with the CPA Law Forum, a national group composed of lawyers and CPAs working in the tax area. He has made presentations in 2004, 2008 and 2009. The presentations are entitled, “CPA on the Hot Seat”, and are available online.
Robert has earned the top rating (AV®) in Martindale Hubbell and is a member of the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He was one of the first domestic lawyers in Wake County to be so recognized. He also has been recognized in Business North Carolina's 'Legal Elite.”
