Laurence P. “Larry” Nokes

Larry Nokes is a trial lawyer. Since 1982, he has represented clients in trial courts and Courts of Appeal throughout California. He founded Nokes & Quinn in 1993. A substantial part of his practice is real estate transaction litigation, including purchase and sale disputes, fraud and nondisclosure claims, breach-of-lease matters, financial elder abuse claims, quiet title actions, and easement and boundary disputes. He also maintains substantial construction-litigation and insurance-coverage practices, handling construction defects, contractor business disputes, technically demanding matters at the interface of soils and structures, and coverage and bad-faith disputes.

His appellate experience includes a California Supreme Court proceeding and a published Court of Appeal decision involving Laguna Beach’s historic-resources program. Trial and appellate work have taught him that mastering a complicated record is only the beginning. The lawyer must turn documents, testimony, technical evidence, and law into a clear account of what happened, why it matters, and what the court should do.

That litigation background also defines Larry’s land-use practice. Administrative advocacy is a different arena: raw, compressed, and fast-paced. In a courtroom, counsel ordinarily has time to develop the evidence and the argument. Before a planning commission, design review board, or city council, a contested project may come down to a five-minute presentation. In that time, the advocate must know the record cold, anticipate the opposition, answer the decisive concern, and give the decision-makers a lawful and practical path to approval.

For decades, Larry has represented property owners, businesses, developers, architects, and other applicants seeking discretionary approvals throughout Southern California. His work begins well before the hearing. He identifies the client’s essential objectives, coordinates with architects, engineers, consultants, and agency staff, and works toward an approvable solution that preserves the project’s core. In Laguna Beach, he helped secure approvals for the City’s first rooftop dining areas and for heavily opposed projects involving Casa del Camino, Mozambique, and the Heisler Building, now home to Skyloft.

Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray invited Larry Nokes to conduct settlement conferences in his department. Larry did so regularly for approximately three years and continued conducting settlement conferences for the Superior Court over approximately two decades, helping parties resolve hundreds of disputes.

Larry has also played an important role in Laguna Beach civic life. He chaired the committee that drafted the City’s View Restoration and Preservation Ordinance and helped lead the successful effort to replace involuntary historic preservation with a voluntary, incentive-based program. He has lived in Laguna Beach since 1984. Away from law, he is a fluent Italian speaker, a lifelong guitarist, and the delighted grandfather of Jack and Welles.

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