Los Angeles Legal Practice Areas

How I Can Help

Below is a plain-English description of what each of these practice areas actually involves, so you can tell quickly whether your situation is one I handle. These are my own general observations, not legal advice, and every matter depends on its own facts. Consultations are free.

Toxic Mold and Habitability

This is the core of my practice. I represent tenants and homeowners in disputes involving mold exposure, water intrusion, and rental units that were never made habitable. In my experience these cases almost always turn on the same two things: whether the landlord was put on written notice, and how well the tenant documented the problem before it was repaired or painted over. If you are dealing with a landlord who has been told about a leak and has not made a real repair, that is the situation I see most.

Start with my toxic mold resource library, which covers rent withholding, reporting to the Los Angeles Housing Department, case value, deadlines, and what to do in the first days after a leak.

Commercial Lease Review and Negotiation

I review and negotiate commercial leases, letters of intent, and related agreements for business tenants. My honest view is that the money in a commercial lease is made or lost before signing, not after. Assignment and subletting rights, repair and maintenance obligations, CAM charge calculations, and personal guarantees are where I most often see tenants agree to something they did not fully price out. A lease review is inexpensive relative to what a single bad clause can cost over a ten-year term.

Real Estate

Purchase and sale agreements, seller disclosure disputes, contract review, and real estate litigation. A meaningful share of this work overlaps with the mold practice: buyers who discover water damage or mold a seller never disclosed. If that is your situation, my article on what to do when a seller did not disclose mold is the place to start, and my general advice is to resist repairing everything before the problem has been documented.

Personal Injury

I handle personal injury claims for clients across Los Angeles County, including vehicle collisions and premises-related injuries. Some of these arise out of the habitability work, where an unsafe condition in a building causes an actual injury rather than just property damage. See also car and motor vehicle accidents.

Contracts and Business Matters

Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating business agreements, along with entity formation. The pattern I see repeatedly is a business that used a template agreement it did not fully read, then discovered the gap only once there was a dispute. Reviewing an agreement before signing is nearly always cheaper than arguing about it later.

Where I Practice

My office is in Century City at 1801 Century Park East, and I work with clients throughout Los Angeles County. For toxic mold and habitability matters I have written area-specific guidance covering Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Los Angeles, Culver City, Downtown, Koreatown, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley, South Los Angeles, Inglewood, Compton, and Long Beach.

Fees

Initial consultations are free. Many litigation matters are handled on a contingency basis, meaning attorney’s fees are paid from any recovery rather than up front; costs are handled separately and are addressed in a written fee agreement. Transactional work such as lease and contract review is generally handled on an hourly or flat-fee basis. I will tell you early if I do not think a matter is worth pursuing.

If you are not sure which category your situation falls into, call (310) 556-9692 and we can work that out in a short conversation.