Mike Howard

Mike Howard is an Of Counsel attorney at Williams Kastner, focused on administrative law and appellate practice. His 15+ years of practice include expertise in regulating utilities and transportation industries.

Before joining Williams Kastner, Mike was Assistant Regional Counsel at the Office of the General Counsel for the Social Security Administration. At OGC, he presented oral arguments before the Ninth Circuit numerous times and argued before the US District Court in six states. Mike served as an appellate review attorney. He trained Social Security administrative law judges throughout the American West and lectured at the National Judicial College.

Mike was also the Director of the Administrative Law Division, the Acting Policy Director, and an administrative law judge for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. At the WUTC, Mike advised the Commissioners on cost-of-service regulation, the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA), the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), the Open Public Meeting Act (OPMA), energy policy, transportation safety, consumer protection, and internal governance. Mike presided as administrative law judge on some of the most complex cases at the Commission in recent years, including investor-owned utility general rate cases and harbor pilot rate cases. Mike also presided over disputed applications for solid waste carrier certificates and other administrative actions affecting the solid waste industry.

Mike enjoys hiking and camping with his wife and three children in his spare time.

• Washington State Bar Association

• University of Washington, J.D., with honors, 2008
• University of Washington, B.A., with distinction, cum laude, 2005

• Presenter, Administrative Law Judges Panel, Energy Bar Association Western Chapter Conference, April 2024
• Chair and Presenter, The Wide World of Utility Regulators, Attorney General Alliance Conference, Seattle, Washington, August 2023
• Moderator and Presenter, 2023 Utilities and Transportation Commission Bench Bar Conference, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, August 2023
• Presenter, U.S. Court of Appeals Decisions and Trends in Social Security Disability Appeals, Association of Administrative Law Judges Annual Conference, hosted by the National Judicial College, June 2018