John C. Howett Jr.

Jack Howett is a Pennsylvania attorney who focuses his practice on family and matrimonial law. He is the senior attorney in the law firm of Howett, Kissinger & Holst, P.C.

Jack began law school in 1971, shortly after his return from Vietnam as a First Lieutenant (Infantry) in the United States Army, where he held both Command and Staff positions. Jack graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 and from the Dickinson School of Law in 1974.

Well known for his service to the legal profession, Jack sat on numerous Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committees involving family law, including: the Domestic Relations Rules Committee, the Forms Revision Committee, and the Appellate Court Rules Committee. He is also a Charter Member of the Joint State Government Advisory Committee on Domestic Relations where he serves as Chair of the Sub-Committee on Equitable Distribution. Jack also served as a Special Master in divorce in Dauphin County.

Respected amongst the legal community, Jack is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. In addition, since 2003, Jack has been continuously recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, and since 1986, he has been continuously chosen as one of the Best Lawyers in America. Jack also had the honor of being selected in 2009 as the first “Family Law-Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in America for Central Pennsylvania.

Jack has served numerous roles in the Pennsylvania Bar Association, including Chair of the Family Law Section and Member of both the Board of Governors and the House of Delegates. He has also held the position of President of the Dauphin County Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker and author for the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, where he has spoken on issues including: The Support Guidelines, Drafting Marital Settlement Agreements, Equitable Distribution in Divorce, and more. Jack has also spoken before the State Trial Judges Conference and the Domestic Relations Association of Pennsylvania. He authored the PBI books on both the 1988 and the 2005 Divorce Code amendments.

From 1974 until her untimely death in 2008, Jack was married to Dr. Mary K. Sheehan Howett, a well-known scientist who served as a Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Hershey Medical Center and later as Department Head of Bioscience and Biotechnology at Drexel University. Together they had two children, with whom he continues to share his love of sailing, traveling, and cooking.