Holland & Knight Names New Three-Partner Leadership Team

Holland & Knight’s leader is stepping down, making way for a three-partner team that will take over next year, the firm announced Thursday.

Steven Sonberg, who has served as managing partner since 2008, will step down at the end of the first quarter in 2024, according to a Holland & Knight statement.

Robert Grammig will become chair and chief executive officer, David Whitestone will serve as managing partner and Tiffani Lee will be deputy managing partner, the statement said.

The change comes after Sonberg presided over the addition of nearly 900 lawyers and 17 offices. The Tampa, Florida-founded firm now has 2,000 lawyers and 34 offices worldwide.

Under Sonberg’s watch the firm merged with Texas-founded Thompson & Knight in 2021 and combined with Tennessee-based Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis in March 2023.

Gramming in the statement cited Sonberg’s “tremendous leadership during which our firm revenue has grown from $546 million to a record $1.54 billion in 2022.” Sonberg co-leads the firm’s corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and securities group.

Gramming, a Holland & Knight partner based out of the Tampa, Washington, DC and New York offices, has represented public and private companies in public offerings, M&A and complex securities.

Whitestone, an executive transportation partner in the firm’s Washington office, previously served as Holland & Knight’s firm-wide lateral hiring partner and led the government section.

Lee is a litigation attorney in the Miami office. Like Gramming and Whitestone, she serves on the practice and operations committee. She has served as the firm-wide diversity partner since 2008.