In a legal career spanning more than 30 years, Thomas H. Howlett concentrates his practice on helping individuals, families and businesses harmed by the misconduct of others. In attempting to redress wrongs in cases involving malpractice, wrongful death and other catastrophes, Tom applies the investigative skills that he developed in his prior career as a newspaper reporter.

Tom currently focuses on legal malpractice and catastrophic injury cases. For a free consultation, call or text Tom at 248-502-0862.

Tom has practiced law in Washington, D.C., Michigan and in state and federal courts across the country since 1990. He joined The Googasian Firm, P.C., in 1998, and he serves as our firm's chief operating officer. Tom graduated from Harvard College (A.B. cum laude, 1984) and University of Michigan Law School (J.D., 1990). Prior to law school, he was a reporter for The Dallas Morning News and the Los Angeles Times.

Tom serves the profession and the public in leadership roles as an attorney. He is currently vice-president of the State Bar of Michigan, which has more than 40,000 members.  Tom serves on the State Bar’s Board of Commissioners, and for many years, he served as a member of the State Bar’s Standing Committee on Professional Ethics, Special Committee on Professionalism and Civility, and Standing Committee for the Client Protection Fund. From 2014-2015, Tom served as president of the Oakland County Bar Association, Michigan’s largest voluntary bar, completing 10 years of service to the OCBA. In 2007 and again in 2013, he received the OCBA's Distinguished Service Award.

Tom has been recognized for more than a decade as of Michigan’s Super Lawyers, where he is listed in the Top 100.  In 2016, Tom was recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of 30 Leaders in the Law in the State of Michigan. He also has received the highest, "AV" peer review rating from LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. Tom has been profiled in Motion magazine. A feature on Tom also appeared in Michigan Lawyers Weekly.

From 1990 to 1991, Tom served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Douglas W. Hillman, then-Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. From 1991 to 1995, Tom worked for a national law firm based in Washington, D.C., in cases in state and federal courts across the country. From 1995 to 1997, Tom and his family lived in the Republic of Palau in the western Pacific, where Tom served as Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the President for that new island nation. 

He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the District of Columbia Bar (inactive) and the State Bar of Texas (inactive), as well as the American Bar Association, the American Association of Justice and the Michigan Association of Justice.  He also is a fellow of the Oakland County Bar Foundation and the Michigan State Bar Foundation.