Shrem & Smith

I am extremely satisfied with Jean Shrem’s handling of my Intellectual Property matter concerning copyright versus «Fair Use». I needed a letter of legal opinion. Within 2 –3 minutes in our initial phone call she totally grasped the jest of my situation and the letter I needed. She provide a draft letter, the next business day. I requested a few changes. She made the requested changes and the ones she did not agree with she provided me with her easy-​to-​understand rationale. I now have the letter of legal opinion I need. Jean is friendly, down-​to-​earth, and knows the law. I feel confident her letter will put my best foot forward should copyright ever become a question. I would give Jean my highest recommendation. I would use Jean in the future, should the need arise.

I have used both Jean and Lara for legal councel and representation. One time for a real estate syndication and one time for a legal dispute with an employee. I appreciate how down-​to-​earth and professional they both are. Most recently we worked with Lara and she made an intimidating legal process painless and got things resolved quickly. I have heard nightmare stories from other people about lawyers racking up hours and unfair billing — my experience was quite the opposite with Lara. She was fair, treated us well, got things resolved in a reasonable manner. When it was all done I emailed her and told her I was very thankful to have her on our team. I can’t recommend these two highly enough.

I have worked in law for years and I have spoken to many lawyers all over the bay who specialize in landlord/​tenant law. I myself know a lot about landlord/​tenant law from being a tenant for many years in the Bay Area and a landlord. I know the ins and outs, tenant rights, and landlord rights. I know regulations specific to each county and different types of buildings. When I found myself in need of legal services I called all over the Bay Area from fancy law firms in San Francisco to single practitioners in the East Bay.
Not one lawyer proved to me to know more about the ins and outs of landlord/​tenant law in the Bay Area like Jean Shrem did, right off the bat from the first few minutes on the phone! She was the one who won my confidence instantly (and she was also recommended by several lawyers whom I deeply respect). She basically had me at hello. Yes, she has a high retainer but she did the work. I got the result I wanted and I knew that every «i» was dotted and every «t» was crossed. The legal work she did for me was solid and I have faith that it will not haunt me down the road. I highly recommend Jean Shrem!

(1) There was significant overbilling and very poor legal work composed by this firm
(2) most of work from this firm had to be completely redone by other attorneys
(3) when filing with the Court, their own bank checks bounced, resulting in embarrassing notes from the Court, delays, etc.
(4) They gave document research help to the opposing counsel memorialized by emails
(5) They billed for any email, even when they wrote back «I can’t help with this.»
(6) They did not keep us updated on our case, requiring us to ask them in email what’s going on, constituting more billable hours.
(7) We had to obtain a substitution of counsel, and will have two litigation firms representing us to make up for the poor work.
I do not recommend this firm at this time.

I had a great experience working with Jean. She got back to me right away when I contacted her and was very helpful. She helped solve a problem that I wasn’t able to figure out on my own. I’d recommend Shrem Law Group to anyone else looking for help with real estate law.

I had the opportunity to have a consultation with Lara Smith and after our first meeting, I felt confident she was who I wanted to go with. So far she has been courteous, upfront and doesn’t waste my time racking up minutes. I would recommend her to anyone in need of legal advice or legal representation. She’s a very smart woman!

Jean recently put together a business contract for me. I sent her my thoughts and requirements and she got back to me very quickly with a contract that is exactly what I needed. The other party promptly agreed to the terms so I am a happy camper. Thanks again Jean!

I was referred to Jean by my real estate agent. He told me Jean is specialized in real estate laws. I went to Jean at 3:30 which she agreed to see me from our email. When I got to the office, someone named Joe called her, she told Joe she double booked her appts for the day. I sat there and waited for her to get off the phone with Joe. She finally got off the phone and I told her about my situation. I have a condo that is way under water, I wanted to know whether I should do a short sale or just walk-​away (foreclosure). Jean asked me how many loans I have for this condo, I said 3 loans. Without thinking, she said most likely I won’t get approved on a short sale because I have 3 loans so it is better just to walk away. She advised me to make sure I still pay on HOA on time while I walk-​away. (That was the best piece of info I have gotten from her). That was less than 10 mins of talking. I left the office giving her the check of $ 400. Less than 10 mins of talking, $ 400… At the end, Jean told me to call her or email her for no charge if I have further questions since my case was short. Two weeks later, I had couple of questions, I called Jean, she told me to make an appt with her in the office. I reminded her about the no charge, she said ok. I asked my question and Jean answered it, less than 30 seconds. I do appreciate her free 30 seconds to answer my question, (yes, 30 secons only). Jean wastes no time to answer questions. Today, my condo is on the market in a short sale, Wells Fargo approved the short sale. My real estate agent told me what the attorney said to me was not correct. The agent said this attorny knows nothing about short sales. He said I just threw $ 400 into the sea… LOL… Anyways, I am so glad I gave it a try to contact an agent for a short sale. I contacted this agent 2 weeks before the bank’s projected sale date. So glad the last 2 weeks saved me… «thanks» to Jean, wasted my $ 400 and time.

I met with Jean Shrem of Shrem Law Group recently regarding the short sale of my home. Jean’s insight, experience and calm were most helpful.
After our meeting and her advise I feel I have a much clearer idea of how to approach this situation, as my home is under water. Jean helped us to understand the maze of legalities surrounding the whole short sale process. Jean’s knowledge in this area gave me peace of mind to work out all the emotional stuff… probably the much tougher part at the end of the day!

I worked with Jean recently on a by-​owner sale contract. She charges a flat-​fee to do what a real estate agent would charge 6% of the sales price to do. She’s efficient, accessible and does a good job representing both sides of the deal. Unfortunately, in this matter, the deal fell through at the last minute due to no fault of Jean’s. Had the deal gone through, I would have saved thousands in fees. When the deal didn’t go through, there was no judgement. In fact, in a situation that could ordinarily be difficult (unrepresented buyer and seller), Jean helped to diffuse the potential conflicts with her calm demeanor. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for an attorney to represent them in a similar situation.

It should be 2.5 stars, but I do not feel like rounding up. We went to her with a landlord problem. Talked to her for an hour, at which point we find out she has been in contact with our landlord, who tried to seek some free legal advice from her. Despite this, she writes a letter on our behalf. Two hours total time she charges us.
After the first meeting, we hear from Jean, who tells us she can no longer represent us, because of this prior contact. That and she sent the letter to both our landlord and her attorney. Not only that, our letter goes ignored. She did refer us to another lawyer, though. Who was more than happy to charge us more per hour than Ms. Shrem did, while he twiddled his thumbs. I ended up relieving him of his duties and resolving the issue on my own.
Long story longer, $ 800 for an ignored letter and a referral. That would have led to another $ 1000 before anything got accomplished. Ms. Shrem gets half a rating for doing half the job.
November 30, 2012 — Ms. Shrem has kindly offered a partial refund of her fees. She is a consummate professional, and genuinely cares about the well being of her clients. The circumstances of our situation were unfortunate, and that has a large impact on my rating. But I’d still recommend her for legal advice, just not necessarily renters’ issues.

Jean recently advised us on some interesting landlord issues and we couldn’t be happier with her and the results.
She quickly understood the situation, clearly explained our options, coached us through some key decisions and then executed against a plan we all agreed upon.
And — because we had a little bit of a «hot issue» on our hands, Jean adapted her schedule to meet with us and wrote up our documents on the spot.
She’s an attorney with 10+ years of experience in complicated matters– so you know she’s going to be smart and capable. But we were surprised with her ability communicate very clearly to us (with our limited real estate knowledge), calm us down with her confidence and mix in just a touch of humor at the same time.
When you meet with Jean, make sure you have had your coffee first. She thinks fast, talks fast and gets results fast.

I found out about Jean through the Berkeley Parents Network. I had an approval
letter for a short sale that I wanted read by a real estate lawyer. She was very
personable, knowledgable, quick and decisive. I was very happy to learn that all
the debts would be forgiven and I can now go on with my life. I would highly
recommend her for all areas of law.

Found out about Jean on Berkeley Parents Network, and got WAY more than $ 400 worth of advice about what to do with our underwater house during my flat-​fee consultation today. She knows a lot of useful information, and delivers the information in a clear, calm, non-​judgmental way.
Here’s my advice for homeowners. Go to
and find out what your house is worth. If what you owe on your mortgage (s) is more than what the house is worth, make an appointment with Jean to find out what your options are. Even if you don’t plan to do anything about your house right now, at some point being underwater is going to matter to you, and you’ll save much more than $ 400 by handling it in the smartest way. Which is what Jean can help you do.
It’s also great that we now have smart, reasonably-​priced person to help us with our follow up questions as we navigate this mess!

I am a seasoned realtor in the East Bay and have referred many clients to Jean Shrem since the economy has unhinged local homeowners. The banks have made it very difficult to navigate any current process to help these homeowners as the process itself seems to continually change. Jean has shown great skill in keeping up on the most recent information for getting through this process and has helped educate many clients so that they can then make the best decisions for their individual situation. Each is different and having Jean on your side is definitely beneficial. I have high regards for her knowledge and her «straight-​shooting». I encourage anyone in a difficult real estate/​financial situation to reach out to her. She is well worth her fee.

After reading all the other reviews I was shocked to find that she would not even speak to me without paying her a couple hundred dollars. This add states that she will give you a free ½ consultation and she does not honor this. She said that was back in 2009. Okay then remove it.
She is the first person I have spoken too that will not talk about anything but her fee’s. Many including lawyers have run my scenario over the phone at least. I am not looking for services for free but I am not going to pay the high fee she asks for what she says will take up to an hours time @ 400.00 an hour. I have never spoken to a lawyer that was SO unhelpful ! Again I am happy to pay for service but would at least like to know that the service I’m about to pay for is necessary.
Ms Shrem is the only person who would not give me 5 minutes of phone time to see if the situation required legal services. And NO Ms. Shrem I am not not going through any extreme financial difficulties or a divorce. I would PAY a councilor for that ! I have since found someone in Walnut Creek who gave me enough info and I will definitely hire him if and when the need arises. He took 5 minutes to explain the difference between a recourse and non recourse loan. You might try being as kind the next time

We are in the midst of a shortsale and are in need of some legal advice so I decided to call.
Me: Hello, may I speak with Jean?
Jean: This is Jean.
Me: This is (my name). I got your number from Unilocal and was wondering if you still do free phone consultation.
Jean: No.
(silence)
Me: Oh. How much do you charge?
Jean: $ 400 an hour.
(silence)
Me: Okay, thank you.
Jean: ok (or bye, I forget)
Can she be any more dismissive? Where is the compassionate, courteous Jean with effective communication skills I’ve read about in the reviews? I was so let down after our brief exchange (can’t even consider it a conversation). Let me wallow in rejection for now… :(
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Update: I heard from Jean a few hours after I posted this review and all is well now. I appreciate her reaching out to me… 4 stars for effort :)

I Found Jean on Unilocal and contacted her for a consultation about a foreclosure on my rental property. She was very friendly and informative and took time out of her day to consult me for free!
Thanks Jean.

I found Jean on Unilocal and thought I’d give her a call. I had an issue that was really stressing me out, and she helped me out tremendously over the phone!
She was very courteous and listened as I explained my situation, and promptly gave me advice that helped put my mind at ease.
If I ever need more help, she’s the one I’m going to go to!

I have had the pleasure of working with Jean Shrem for several years after she joined the real estate office I work for as a Broker Associate in 2002. Working closely with her during her real estate transactions, Jean has always demonstrated a high level of professionalism, knowledge of real estate-​related matters (and the legal intricacies of such transactions), effective communication skills, and a strong dedication to her clients. I have a genuine high regard for Jean as an attorney and would not hesitate to refer people to Jean as I have used her legal advice successfully for my own purposes.
Also, after a recent office meeting where transaction reviews were discussed, it was well noted that her rates are among the most competitive out there.