Lance August Harke

Lance August Harke has practiced complex commercial litigation in South Florida for over 34 years, first as a defense attorney and partner at Steel Hector & Davis, and then through his own firm before joining UWWM as a full-time mediator and arbitrator. Lance defended major corporations such as DuPont, New York Life Insurance, FPL and many others in high-stakes commercial litigation across the country, including class action defense, products liability, contracts, securities, employment and other commercial torts. Over the last several decades he concentrated on prosecuting class actions, leading a wide variety of national multi-district mass tort and class action litigations, including some of the largest and most significant cases in United States history. Beyond Florida, Lance has tried matters to verdict in numerous states and federal venues, including Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, Illinois, and New York. He is a former federal law clerk in the Southern District of Florida. Lance is actively involved in numerous legal, business and community organizations. He is the current president of the Miami Shores Bar Association, and he is past president of Legal Services of Greater Miami, Temple Israel of Greater Miami and the Greater Miami Shores Chamber of Commerce, among others. Lance is a past Editor-in-Chief of the University of Miami Law Review, a UM booster, and is a co-founder of the Miami Law Class Action & Complex Litigation Forum. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards and accolades for his legal work and contributions to the field of law and the general community.