Practice Areas

The attorneys at Howell, Moore, & Gough have collective experience in a wide variety of practice areas, ranging from Business Law to Employment Law to Public Agency Law and Civil Litigation.

Business Law

Joe Howell is a business/transactions lawyer whose practice includes business entity formations, mergers and acquisitions and serving as general counsel to a wide range of individuals and business entities.

Kim McDaniel is an experienced business/transactions lawyer whose practice includes the representation of start-up and mature technology entities, intellectual property and technology transactions, and clients in the food and wine industry.

Rick Battles handles a variety of business law matters, including contract drafting, entity formations and merger and acquisition transactions.  In the real estate area, Rick represents clients on residential and commercial real property issues, land use, sales and acquisitions, financing, leasing, and easement matters.

Employment Law

Ed Thoits assists business owners, executive and human resource professionals with employment law matters.  This includes help with overtime issues and other wage and hour claims, wrongful termination claims, discrimination complaints, harassment allegations, and leaves of absence.  Ed also regularly provides in-house training for clients and their supervisors on various employment matters.

Estate Planning, Trust and Estate Administration, and Trust and Estate Litigation

James P. Griffith is an experienced practitioner in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, and complex trust and estate litigation.

Civil Litigation

In addition to his background in complex trust and estate litigation, James P. Griffith is an experienced civil litigator, and handles a wide variety of general civil litigation matters, including business, contract and tort litigation.

Brian Gough is a civil litigator and trial attorney in the area of complex business transactions, including contracts, real property, construction, easements, partnerships, closely held corporations, trade secrets, unfair competition and professional malpractice defense.

Public Agency Law

Rick Battles serves as general counsel to several local special districts and has extensive experience with respect to the Brown Act, Public Records Act, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) issues.