General Information

Year founded: 1982
This is the year the firm (or its earliest predecessor entity) was founded.
Logo for Hollingsworth LLP

Overview

Content is provided by the firm.

Hollingsworth LLP is among the nation’s leading litigation firms. For over forty years, we have focused our practice on complex litigation matters. We are nationally recognized as a go-to litigation firm for our work on high-stakes cases. Our attorneys have successfully tried cases in judicial hellholes across the country and on more fair playing fields as well. Our appellate experience extends to the United States Supreme Court, and we have argued extensively in the U.S. Circuit Courts and before many state supreme and intermediate appellate courts. Our record of success is reflected in the many reported federal and state cases in which we have been lead counsel.

We handle any litigation challenge, but the majority of our work is for corporate clients in the areas of products liability and toxic torts, environmental, natural resource damages, pharmaceutical products and medical devices, business interruption and commercial disputes, class-action defense, construction and engineering, federal claims, defense and government contracts, insurance coverage, investigations, risk management and mitigation, and white collar defense.

Our clients are multinational blue-chip companies, large and small domestic businesses, and an array of directors, officers, and other individuals. We are called upon to solve our clients’ toughest litigation problems nationwide and, in consequence, we regularly have the lead in landmark cases and on cutting-edge litigation theories and defenses. Because we have the tenacity and skill to win at trial and on appeal, we increase the likelihood of successful resolution at earlier stages of a case as well. We offer efficiencies unmatched at larger general practice firms and depth and experience unmatched at boutiques.

We independently advance our clients’ interests through our memberships in, among others, American Law Institute, Atlantic Legal Foundation, Chesapeake Legal Alliance, Defense Research Institute, The International Association of Defense Counsel, International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, National Defense Industrial Association, Product Stewardship Society, The Sedona Conference, and Washington Legal Foundation.

We maintain our only office in the District of Columbia and support our community as both lawyers and business people. We provide pro bono representation through the District of Columbia Bar Association and other local organizations. We participate in local fundraisers such as the annual Lawyers Have Heart 10k, Whitman Walker AIDS Walk, Gifts for the Homeless, and Breast Cancer Awareness activities, and we support numerous local charitable groups, including Bread for The City, Charlie’s Place, DC Greens, the Greater Washington Urban League, Langley Elementary School, Rising for Justice, Rock Creek Conservancy, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and Thrive DC, among others.

Rankings

Hollingsworth LLP is nationally ranked in 2 practice areas and metro ranked in 6 practice areas. Best Law Firms rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process.

Read how Best Law Firms ranks firms

National Rankings

Tier 2
Tier 2 for Environmental Law
Tier 2 for Litigation - Environmental

Metro Rankings

Washington, D.C.
Tier 1 for Litigation - Insurance
Tier 2 for Environmental Law
Tier 2 for Insurance Law
Tier 2 for Litigation - Environmental
Tier 2 for Product Liability Litigation - Defendants

Rankings

National Rankings

Tier 2
Tier 2 for Environmental Law
Tier 2 for Litigation - Environmental

Regional Rankings

Washington, D.C.
Tier 1 for Litigation - Insurance
Tier 2 for Environmental Law
Tier 2 for Insurance Law
Tier 2 for Litigation - Environmental
Tier 2 for Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Tier 3 for Litigation - Construction

Practice Areas

The below are areas of legal specialty volunteered by the firm and do not designate a specialty in which a Best Law Firms ranking is held.
  • Appellate Practice
  • Bet-the-Company Litigation
  • Construction Law
  • Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Environmental Law
  • Government Contracts
  • Insurance Law
  • Litigation - Construction
  • Litigation - Environmental
  • Litigation - Insurance
  • Mass Tort
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
  • Natural Resources Law
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
  • Toxic Tort

Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®

Hollingsworth LLP has 3 lawyers recognized for individual performance in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. By receiving this Best Lawyers recognition from their peers for their professional excellence, these lawyers made Hollingsworth LLP eligible for evaluation for Best Law Firms rankings. For almost two decades, Best Lawyers has awarded these singular accolades, making them the foundation of our Best Law Firms awards. Read more about our Best Lawyers process here.
Spinning circle
{{ practiceAreaName }}
{{ lawyer.FirstName[0] }}{{ lawyer.LastName[0] }} {{ lawyer.FirstName[0] }}{{ lawyer.LastName[0] }} {{ lawyer.Locations[0].City }}{{lawyer.Locations[0].StateCode ? ', ' + lawyer.Locations[0].StateCode : '' }}

Awards

Awards are self-reported by firms and are not verified by the Best Law Firms rankings.
  • National Law Journal Midsize Firm List
  • National Law Journal Midsize Firm List
  • AmLaw Litigation Daily Litigators of the Week
  • International Interior Design Award for Davis Carter Scott
  • Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award from the Southern Center for Human Rights
  • National Law Journal Top Defense Wins of 2004
  • National Law Journal Top Defense Wins of 1997
  • Vault.com's 2013 15 Best Litigation Boutiques
  • National Law Journal Midsize Firm List
  • National Law Journal Top Defense Wins of 2001
  • 2014 Thomas L. Sager Award Finalist
  • Lawyer Monthly's Pharmaceutical Products Liability Law Firm of the Year-USA
  • Corporate America Legal Elite 2015: Best in Products Liability Litigation - Washington DC
  • Global Law Experts' High Stakes Litigation Law Firm of the Year, Washington DC, and Pharmaceutical Products Liability Law Firm of the Year, Washington DC

Management and Personnel

Managing Partner
Donald W. Fowler

Contacts

Marketing & Client Relations
Maury A. Callahan 202-898-5878
Find the Best Law Firms
Search for a Law Firm
Search our directory of over 16,000 firms across the Globe.
Search
Is Your Law Firm Ranked?
Enhance your firm's reputation and visibility with our marketing opportunities.
Marketing Opportunities
Ranked Practice Areas
See the practice areas included in our Best Law Firms research.
Practice Areas