By: Melissa Pepper

When I first started at Lane & Waterman, Troy Howell was one of the first friendly faces who popped into my office to welcome me. Since then, I’ve enjoyed getting to know him. When we sat down last week, the topic of conversation was service and his reasons for giving back.

MP: Are you originally from the Quad Cities? What brought you here?

TH: I’m from Bradley, Illinois which is an hour south of Chicago.  I attended the University of Illinois at Champaign for undergrad and then the University of Iowa College of Law.  I clerked at Lane & Waterman after my second year in law school and was fortunate enough to be offered full-time employment after law school.

MP: What area of law do you enjoy practicing the most?

TH: Litigating the enforceability of non-compete agreements. Oh, you wanted that in non-lawyer speak? A non-compete agreement is a contract an employee signs agreeing to not work for a competitor for a given amount of time once the employment ends. They can be difficult to enforce from a legal standpoint, which is a challenge I enjoy.

MP: What do you do when not litigating the enforceability of non-compete agreements?

TH: I spend time with my family. Also, please put this in there, I am a diehard to the core Chicago Cubs fan and have season tickets and try to get to as many games as possible.

MP: You’re very involved with the March of Dimes. How did you get involved?

TH: I have been involved for 15 years. I was looking for an organization to join and volunteer. I chose the March of Dimes for personal reasons. The first reason is that my oldest daughter was born six weeks early, which I realize is not as extreme as some families, but it did affect ours. The second reason is that I was born without a right ear (I had reconstructive plastic surgery when I was eight years old).  The March of Dimes has a two-fold mission to prevent premature births and birth defects.  It began when the public was asked to send dimes to President Roosevelt to combat polio.  Almost 80 years later, they’ve continued with this mission. It just made sense for me to get involved. I now serve on the local Board and volunteer at their two main fundraisers.

MP: What are the events? How can others get involved?

TH: The March for Babies in the Quad Cities is Saturday April 30 at the Rock Island Arsenal Park Pavilion. Registration for the March begins at 8 am with the March beginning at 9 am.  The second event, in the fall, is the Chef’s Auction, where local chefs make exciting dishes for event attendees. The money raised goes to education, research, and outreach.  To learn more, visit www.marchofdimes.org/iowa/events/events.html.

Learn more about Troy and the work he enjoys at Lane & Waterman at https://l-wlaw.com/attorneys/troy-a-howell/.