Experience

Barry Hovis has over thirty-five years of experience in litigation, largely for financial institutions, and providing business and real estate advice.  Mr. Hovis has tried to judge or jury over thirty-five cases and handled many arbitrations.  Since 1999, Mr. Hovis has tried three cases to judge and five to jury.  For well over twenty-five years Mr. Hovis has not lost a judge or jury trial.

Mr. Hovis has litigated cases involving all types of commercial disputes. His trial experience includes defense of claims of lender liability and breach of fiduciary duty against financial institutions, their officers and directors.  He also represents these entities in regulatory proceedings.  He has defended numerous class actions and unfair business practice claims.  Mr. Hovis has tried claims involving corporate indemnification, employment and CERCLA.  He has represented management and shareholders of financial institutions in litigation with the FSLIC, RTC and FDIC in California and Colorado (Silverado Banking).   He has prosecuted actions involving check kiting and other types of fraud and defended numerous forged check cases and account holder cases.  He practices in state, federal and bankruptcy courts, and has significant appellate experience, with well over twenty reported appellate decisions.  He has lectured at various seminars for financial institutions.

Mr. Hovis represented World Savings as its principal outside counsel for twenty years.  He handled well over a hundred of World's cases, and successfully tried several cases for World, including a recovery of almost $8 million from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco in a dispute over prepayment fees.  Mr. Hovis worked with World in developing the argument of preemption of the federal regulatory scheme over state laws.  He obtained the first favorable opinion upholding preemption in Northern California in Lopez v. World Savings, 105 Cal.App.4th 729.  Mr. Hovis has prevailed in jury trials for Citibank, Washington Mutual and various other banks.  Mr. Hovis presently represents virtually all major banks and certain smaller financial institutions in meeting their litigation needs.

Mr. Hovis chairs Musick Peeler’s Business Litigation Practice Group, is a member of the Management Committee and teaches MCLE classes in strategies of business litigation and trial.

He is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association.

Education

• Northwestern University, B.A., 1968
• University of Michigan Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1971

Bar Admissions

• State Bar of California