Ken Howden's documented life is rooted in Melbourne, the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, where he studied law and built his legal career. Within Victoria's legal profession, his career moved from the role of solicitor to that of barrister.
Howden studied at the University of Melbourne, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. Founded in 1853, the university was Victoria's first, and its law degrees formed the academic route into the colony's legal profession.
His admission to the legal profession in Victoria in 1984 marked the start of his practice as a solicitor, the stage that followed his university studies.
Howden began his legal career as a solicitor with Phillips Fox in 1984. The firm had roots in the older Melbourne practice Phillips Fox & Masel and later operated under the collective name Phillips Fox, which was described as the first national law firm in Australia. Known for its insurance practice, it was later absorbed by the global firm DLA Piper, which opened in Australia in 2011 and closed DLA Phillips Fox.
He became a member of the firm in 1991 and remained with it until he came to the Bar, joining the Bar roll in 1993. At the Victorian Bar he practises principally in commercial and professional indemnity law, with an emphasis on insurance. His work covers property, business interruption and liability claims, along with the drafting and interpretation of general, personal accident and life policies. He is admitted to practise in Victoria, New South Wales and the federal jurisdictions.
From August 2015 to June 2016 Howden was based in New Orleans, where he volunteered for the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana. The project assisted United States attorneys in reviewing death sentences imposed by Louisiana courts, a statutory review that also involved federal habeas corpus jurisdiction and the rights of those accused of capital crimes under the Louisiana and federal constitutions. Louisiana's death-penalty history was shaped by the 1972 Supreme Court ruling in Furman v. Georgia, which found existing state laws unconstitutional. His work for the office has continued since his return to Melbourne.
