Jim Gotch has been a practicing trial attorney for 19 years.  Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he attended Creighton Preparatory High School. In 1983, he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, with writing emphasis from Santa Clara University. 
After his first year of law school at Creighton University, he returned to Santa Clara University to complete his law studies, where he received his J.D. in 1986.  In both State and Federal Court, his areas of practice have focused on general civil litigation, including personal injury, complex litigation, ADA claims, insurance bad faith, suspected insurance fraud, construction defect, employment litigation, dental malpractice defense and environmental law.
He has represented public entities, namely school districts, as well as commercial clients and private individuals. He has participated in more than half a dozen jury trials (in one instance obtaining a six minute defense jury verdict), dozens of court trials and several writs and appeals. Prior to joining Stubbs & Leone, Mr. Gotch was a partner with the firm of Knox Ricksen LLP, in Oakland, CA, where he practiced general civil litigation for thirteen years.
A devoted husband, father of two daughters and an avid Nebraska Cornhusker football fan, Mr. Gotch resides in Piedmont CA, where he is an active member of the school community and past president of the Wildwood Dad’s Club.  He has also been an active member of the NCFIA (Northern California Fraud Investigation Association) since 1995 and served as the 2005 Chairman of the NCFIA 16^th Annual Training Conference in Monterey, CA.