Tenant Defenders

Highly satisfied !! We had gotten a 30 day notice to evict us. For no valid reason. So we decided to take letter in. It was $ 150 just to talk but it was well worth it! It also said he would write us a letter saying that the letter she gave us was invalid so we paid $ 75 for that letter and it was well worth it !!! We had gotten things that we needed to be fixed in the house! And they were pretty scared when they got our letter!

Not sure if I will need to hire Mr. Whitam yet, but my consultation was EXTREMELY helpful. Marc was very thorough, absolutely knows the law and was very «human» unlike most attorneys. If I do need Marc’s services I will absolutely being hiring him!

Marc was able to schedule a same-​day consultation for me after my initial call. He was punctual, approachable, compassionate, and had researched the topic that I needed assistance with between the time of our initial call to the actual consultation a few hours later. I highly recommend him!

This review comes several years late bc of my hectic schedule but I never forgot Marc Whitman’s excellent attorney svcs. Awesome, affordable renter’s rights attorney. Takes his time to discuss your rights, options and educates you on the law. Excellent communicator, writer and very thorough in his defense technique. Highly recommend him. Marc goes above and beyond for the minimal fee he charges. Very happy with the outcome after hiring him to fight my awful landlord who was clearly breaking many laws.

Good lawyer. Is straight to the point. Highly recommend him. I had been having issues with my Landlord and couldn’t defend myself so I had Marc represent me. He took care of the situation.

My roommate and I went to Tenant Defenders to have a consultation with Marc Whitham today to discuss a landlord issue we are having. We are facing a complicated case involving landlord negligence as well as lease contract issues and as recent college graduates I wanted to make sure I found a good lawyer for an affordable price.
I found Tenant Defenders on Unilocal and called to make an appointment. After leaving a message, Marc called me back by the end of the day to discuss the background of my situation and to set up a consultation if I felt interested. He told me it would cost $ 150 for a consultation and my roommate and I decided to go ahead and set one up.
During our consultation, Marc proved to be a very knowledgeable, competent, and compassionate professional. He took the time to really explain our options, the legality behind every path we could go down, and gave us advice on where we can go from here. We spent an hour and a half talking about our situation and at no time did we feel pressured to wrap it up or finish the consultation. He also offered to draw up a «Demand Letter» for a small fee if we decided that was the way we wanted to go.
Although our housing situation remains complicated, Marc helped us understand our options from a legal standpoint in a patient, pressure-​free, and easy to understand way. I am saving his business card for future use if I decide to pursue legal action and will be referring him to anyone in San Diego that requires counsel in any landlord/​tenant conflict situation.

My Girlfriend and I hired Marc to protect us from a retaliatory eviction, in this area he represented us well and we were pleased with the results, it was worth the money. During our initial consultation we were told that we had an excellent case for damages against our Landlord after the eviction case settled, so much so that Marc agreed to take on that case on a contingency basis, this was a big factor in hiring Marc. However, the day after our eviction case settled it was like speaking to a completely different person. We were told it would cost at least $ 3000.00 more for Marc to represent us in a case for damages, and he really didn’t know how well we would do. During the eviction defense there were no changes, no surprises, we were up front and honest. I told Marc I didn’t understand how we went from a contingency to $ 3000+ up front and from an excellent case to a maybe, so so case, I never got a clear answer. A big reason we hired Marc was that he had so much confidence in helping us recover damages and gave us a lot of hope, now we feel we were told things just to get us to hire him for the eviction defense and there was never an intention to pursue the case for damages. I feel we were mislead and given a false sense of hope, really broke our trust. Promised to get the reports from the code compliance office and never came through on that either.

My landlord is a millionaire. Has been a property owner and manager and landlord for 40 years. Tons of resources. And he knows how to walk a fine line that keeps renters from calling him on practices that are simply unethical, but too expensive for 99.99 of renters to challenge. When i finally called my landlord on his behavior and called the appropriate authorities to force the landlord to make the fixes necessary to bring him back under contract, the landlord began to wage war against me…
Talked to a few lawyers, and AMAZING how many lawyers out there tailor their practice for landlords, and ignore the needs of tenants. The reasons seem obvious to me…
One lawyer I spoke with, a woman who teaches law at UCLA in addition to maintaining a thriving practice, told me about an attorney she litigated AGAINST… Marc Whitham… and recommended I call him. So I did.
Marc was precisely the type of person I wanted to help me during this very stressful time. Compassionate, not dismissive, a guy who instilled confidence and ease.
Long story short, won the Superior Court case brought by the landlord. And with that victory, and Marc’s assistance in preparing my Small Claims case against the landlord for his breaches, by the time the case was to be heard, the landlord asked to mediate, which also worked out in my favor.
Hiring Marc to hold my hand through this stuff was money VERY well spent. Good lawyer, good man.

Marc advised me of my rights as a tenant and provided me with options for resolving a very unpleasant situation with my landlord. After speaking with him, I felt empowered and in control of my living situation for the first time in years. Finally, I have a solid plan of action.
Additionally, Marc’s passion for tenant’s rights really impressed me. He was well prepared, familiar with my case, and really seemed invested in its outcome. Moreover, he listened to what I had to say, addressed my goals as a client, and answered all of my questions.
I highly recommend Marc Whitman and Tenant Defenders for any tenant’s rights issue that you may have. Tremendous value for services rendered.

We acquired Marc Whitham’s services after my fiancée keeps getting harassed by a crazy landlady, and we are so glad we picked him. After about 3 weeks of working with him, and we are so glad we did. Not only is he always accessible and his rates reasonable, he is so compassionate that you feel he is not doing it just for the money but for the job satisfaction of protecting and educating people whose rights have been violated. Another plus is that he is as tech savvy and efficient as anyone I know, and that’s saying a lot since I’m in the engineering and computer networking field where it’s techies galore. In short, if you’re a tenant in SD and you need legal help, give Marc a call. you can thank me later.

Dan Lickel was professional, responsive, and successful in the financial negotiations he did on my behalf. I would recommend him to anyone in need of financial defence., even against big corporations. He was also extremely cost effective.

After over a year of written complaints about a inoperable window providing inadequate ventilation and causing mold in my bathroom, my landlord finally came out to look at the problem. His immediate response was to blame me for all the water damage, and, after telling me I was at fault for «gross neglect», he threatened eviction unless I gave 30 days notice. He also implied that I would be getting little — if any — of my rather hefty security deposit back as he planned to use it to fix the bathroom. I felt that this was wrong, and, being threatened with attorneys, I went looking for some legal advice.
After phoning many law offices and attorneys, and getting no response, I looked on Unilocal and found Marc Whitham at the very top of the list. He is at the top of the list for good reason. I left him a message, and he called me back within a couple hours. I explained the situation to him, and he gave me some brief advice over the phone before we set up an appointment to meet early the next week. He told me exactly how much everything would cost and what would be included with the cost, and he never charged me a penny more.
Marc Whitham’s legal council was invaluable. Not only did he inform me of my rights and clearly explain all the civil code, he acted as a voice of reason — empowering me to stand up to a landlord who was clearly in the wrong. He was personal and sincere, while remaining professional, and I felt like I had a powerful ally in my corner.
In the end, Marc Whitham made sure that I was treated fairly and appropriately according to the law and gave me back the rights that I almost let my landlord bully me into giving away. He also gave me back peace of mind and empowered me to defend myself. I hope I will never have to use a tenant attorney again, but if I do, I know who I will be going to.

Wow, I really had no clue utilizing the services of an attorney could be so positive. Prior to my consultations with Marc, I had no need. Actually, I had seen one attorney right beforehand (for tenant issues, too) but he was truly awful, and just plain mean. Because of this I sought out Marc’s help instead. By comparison, Marc is a saint and continues to be so the more I work with him. He provides expert, thoughtful and complete counsel, never skipping a beat. He is generous and affordable. And, he is compassionate and empathetic, leaving you with very good feelings about working with him. In all, Marc instills in me the confidence, power and skillfulness required to effectively defend my position, and for this I am extraordinarily grateful.

Dan Lickel has proven to be a highly conscientious professional attorney who will genuinely listen to every detail of your situation — and apply a fair evaluation and strategy that is designed to truly assist with your circumstances.
After spending the time and research required to compare other specialists in his field to insure my trust was in the right place — I also found his fees to be more affordable than most.
I would highly recommend Dan to anyone seeking a personable and well-​informed attorney who is truly compassionate… a rare quality in any industry!

today i spoke with mark — he gave me intelligent answers to my questions and helped me as a tenant — few lawyers are able to help over the phone — mark did so and was considerate as well — i recommend this firm for anyone that has tenant/​landlord issues and is the tenant.

I called upwards of ten firms today trying to get legal help. I was able to talk to Mark Whitham, a lawyer here, within less than a minute. He was very helpful and knowledgeable. I was able to get help regarding a tenant (me) and landlord issue. If I ever have a legal problem in this realm or any other that they deal with for that matter, I will be coming back here.