Accomplished real estate and land use attorney James Vaughn joined Procopio January 1, 2025, as a Partner. Based in the firm’s Orange County, California, office, Jim brings extensive experience with complex real estate development projects throughout Central and Southern California to Procopio’s award-winning Real Estate practice, and will lead Procopio’s Land Use practice group. He joins Procopio from Stowell, Zeilenga, Ruth, Vaughn & Treiger LLP, where he was a founding Partner.

“On behalf of our entire Procopio partnership, I’m excited to welcome Jim Vaughn as our latest Partner,” said Procopio Managing Partner Dennis Doucette. “Jim has provided numerous clients key legal counsel with ambitious developments from conception to completion, making him a great fit for our growing real estate practice. It’s clear Jim is fully committed to serving his clients. He also values collegiality, making him a pleasure to work with.”

Jim represents large companies and high net worth individuals with complex real estate development projects, including due diligence investigations, land acquisitions and dispositions, entitlements, annexations, development agreements, and other public agency infrastructure/service agreements, as well as agreements with Native American Indian tribes. Jim also has extensive experience in all facets of real estate litigation, including CEQA lawsuits, land use and zoning litigation, quiet title actions, contract disputes, easement litigation, nuisance actions, and commercial landlord-tenant disputes. He has successfully litigated, arbitrated and mediated all types of business controversies, including corporation and partnership management disputes and dissolution actions, as well as unfair competition, trade secret, fraud, defamation, breach of contract and declaratory relief claims.

“I am excited to join Procopio’s highly successful real estate practice and help expand its presence in Orange County, the Inland Empire, and the Coachella Valley,” Jim said. “The Procopio firm presents a unique opportunity for me to lead its Land Use group while also benefiting from the firm’s team of accomplished attorneys and other professionals to provide a full suite of legal services to our developer and builder clients.” 

His key matters include leading the entitlement and CEQA compliance efforts for the Cotino™, a master-planned community currently being developed in the City of Rancho Mirage; securing the entitlements for the new Del Webb Desert Retreat active adult community in the City of Indio currently being developed by the Pulte Group; and serving as the land use and CEQA counsel for the Harvest at Limoneira master-planned community in the City of Santa Paula. He has guided other successful California developments, including in Paso Robles in Central California and La Quinta in the Coachella Valley.

Procopio’s Real Estate practice is ranked as a Tier One legal practice by Best Lawyers in America®-Best Law Firms®, with numerous practice attorneys recognized by Best Lawyers® and Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers®. Our Real Estate attorneys provide a full range of value-added services to real estate owners, investors, lenders, developers, property managers and real estate professionals, including services such as acquisitions and dispositions, land use entitlements and project management, landlord and tenant lease representation, rural and urban development projects, real estate finance, and environmental law compliance.