Brian Gough

bgough@hmglaw.com
P: (805) 962-0524 x2
F: (805) 962-0534

Retired 2023

Brian Gough practices in the area of complex business litigation, principally involving contract and business disputes, partnership and closely held corporation dissolutions, real estate and landlord tenant issues, business torts, employment contracts, and trade secret and competitive business practice disputes.  In addition, he has represented numerous attorneys, accountants, and real estate brokers and agents in the area of professional malpractice defense.  Brian has litigated major cases, including class actions, in both federal and state court, and has argued successfully in the California Court of Appeal and before the California Supreme Court.  Brian enjoys an AV rating from Martindale-Hubble, the highest rating given practicing attorneys in terms of both professional competence and ethics.

Brian earned his undergraduate degree, with honors, from Stanford University in 1971, and his J.D. from UCLA, before being admitted to the California Bar in 1974.  Brian practiced in Los Angeles for nearly twenty years with the regional firm of Macdonald, Halsted & Laybourne, which later merged with the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie, where he served as Chair of its Litigation Department and on its long range planning committee.  In 1992, he moved to Santa Barbara and initially joined Schramm & Raddue as a senior partner, before forming the firm of Howell Moore & Gough LLP with partners Joe Howell and Ed Moore.

Brian served as President of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association in 2002 and now sits on the Board of Directors of the Channel Islands YMCA and Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.  He is a past president of Business & Industry Associates, a support organization for Santa Barbara City College, served on the Board of Trustees of Marymount School, and was Co-Chair of the Litigation Section of the Santa Barbara County Bar Association.

Brian and his wife Judy have three sons, Kevin, Christopher and Andrew. Judy is a lecturer in the EMS Program of the Linguistics Department at UCSB.  Brian’s outside interests include golf, tennis, hiking, travel and home remodeling.

Education

University of California at Los Angeles School of Law (J.D., 1974)
Stanford University (B.A., 1971), Political Science with Honors

Memberships - Legal

State Bar of California (admitted 1974)
Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court,
– Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and United States District Court
– (Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California)
American Bar Association
Santa Barbara County Bar Association

Community Activities / Positions

Santa Barbara County Bar Association – Board of Directors, 1997 – 2003; President
– 2002 Co-Chair, Civil Litigation Section 1994-1995
Channel Islands YMCA – Board of Directors, 1999 – Present, Vice-Chair 2003 – 2004,
– 2007 – 2008; Chair 2009 – 2010
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics – Board of Directors, 2016 – Present; Vice Chair 2019 – 2021; Chair 2021 – Present
Marymount School Santa Barbara – Board of Trustees, 2006 – 2009
Santa Barbara City College – Business & Industry Associates
– Board of Directors, 1993-1999; President 1995-1996
Schramm & Raddue – Chair, Litigation Department 1993 to 1996
Baker & McKenzie – Chair, Litigation Department – Los Angeles1990-1992; Member,
– Strategic Planning Committee – Los Angeles1989-1990