James P. Lough – Ret.

Email: JPL@LFAP.com

Practice Areas:
Municipal Law, Private Election Remedies

Mr. Lough specialized in municipal law since 1980.  Beginning in 1985, he served as City Attorney for the City of Hermosa Beach.  Beginning in 1992, Mr. Lough also served as the City Attorney for the City of Fresno.  As Fresno City Attorney, he assisted in the development of the Strong Mayor Charter Reform package; issuance of pension obligation bonds to stabilize long-term pension obligations; and the development of a Regional Medical Center and a Triple A Baseball stadium for the Fresno Grizzlies.

Mr. Lough also served as the County Counsel to the County Humboldt.  He supervised the County’s civil legal staff and represented the Board of Supervisors, County Departments, Special Districts and the Grand Jury.  He advised on general county legal issues and represented the County in federal and state litigation.  In his capacity as County Counsel, he represented the Tax Assessment Appeals Board, County Registrar of Voters, the County Planning Commission and various county and special district boards and hearing bodies.

He represented special districts, counties, joint powers authorities and cities as both general and special counsel.  He served as General Counsel for entities including the Westside Hospital District, Vaughn Water Company, Del Rey Community Services District, North Coast Air Quality Management District, South Bay Regional Communications Authority, Lemon Grove Sanitation District, and the Lakeside Fire Protection District.  As Special Counsel, he represented numerous special districts including the Ridgecrest Community Hospital District, Five Cities Economic Development Authority, Redway Community Services District, and the Sanger Unified School District.

In 2001, Mr. Lough joined the firm of McDougal, Love, Eckis, Boehmer, Foley & Lough, where he served as City Attorney for Lemon Grove, Imperial Beach, and Solana Beach. He handled election matters, stormwater and environmental issues and represented various cities in writ proceedings and appellate work.

He joined Lounsbery, Ferguson, Altona & Peak in February, 2010 as Of Counsel.  In that capacity, Mr. Lough represented the City of Lemon Grove as City Attorney, and served as Special Counsel for a variety of entities including Chula Vista, El Centro, Vista and Imperial County.  He successfully represented Vista before the California Supreme Court on the issue of whether Charter Cities are subject to state legislative control in the expenditure of locally-generated tax revenue.

Mr. Lough published numerous articles for various legal publications, including Duquesne Law Review, California Public Law Journal and Western Cities Magazine.  He was also a co-editor of the 2001 edition of the Municipal Law Handbook, published by the League of California Cities.  Mr. Lough also conducted training on AB1234 for various city governments, and has lectured before the San Diego City Attorney’s Association, League of California Cities, and Fresno Bar Associations on a wide range of issues, including election law, The Telecommunications Act, Proposition 218, The Ralph M. Brown Act, Campaign Finance Reform, and ethics.

Mr. Lough attended California State University, Fullerton where he earned a degree in Political Science.  In 1979 he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles where he was a Member of the Law Review and the Phillip Jessup International Law Moot Court team.  In 1980, he received his LL.M in Urban Studies from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri.  Mr. Lough is a member of the California State Bar, and the San Diego County Bar Association. He is also admitted to practice before all the Federal District Courts in California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.