What we keep,
and what we don't.

The longer version follows. It is written in plain English on purpose. If something here is unclear, the firm would rather you ask than guess. Contact information is at the bottom.

The information the firm holds about you falls into a small number of buckets. We try to keep that list short on purpose.

Information you give us directly

When you call, fill out the contact form, or send an email, you may share things like your name, phone number, email, the address of the unit you live in, the name of your landlord or property manager, the rent you pay, how long you have been in the unit, and a description of what is happening.

The contact form on this site asks for the minimum needed to call you back. You are not required to share anything you are not comfortable putting in writing. If a situation is sensitive, call us. A phone call leaves a smaller trail than an email.

Information our systems collect automatically

When you visit this website, our hosting infrastructure logs basic technical information: your IP address, browser type, the pages you visit, the time of the visit, and the page that referred you. This is standard web-server logging. It is used to keep the site running and to spot abuse, not to build a profile of you.

Information from third parties

We may receive information about you from a person who refers you to the firm (for example, a tenant rights organization, a friend, or a prior client) or from public records related to your case if you become a client. We do not buy data about you from advertisers or data brokers.

The firm uses the information you share to:

• Call you back about your situation.
• Decide whether the firm can help you, and tell you honestly if we cannot.
• Provide legal services if you become a client (research, drafting, negotiation, filings, communications with opposing counsel, and court appearances).
• Send you updates that pertain to your case or, if you have asked, to your situation.
• Keep proper conflict-of-interest checks so the firm does not represent two people whose interests collide.
• Comply with the firm's obligations under the California Rules of Professional Conduct and the State Bar of California.

We do not use the information you share with us to advertise to you. We do not use it to train artificial intelligence systems that learn from your case. If a vendor we use claims a right to train on the content we put into their product, the firm turns that setting off or stops using the product.

Inside the firm

The attorney handling your matter sees your file. So does anyone working under that attorney's supervision (a paralegal, a legal assistant, or a contract attorney brought in for a specific task). Everyone with access is bound by the same confidentiality duty.

Vendors that help us run the firm

The firm uses a small number of outside services to operate: email hosting, document storage, secure client portals, accounting software, and the like. These vendors only see information they need to provide their service, and they are contractually required to keep it confidential. Where the law requires a written agreement (for example, with vendors handling protected health information or California Consumer Privacy Act covered data), the firm has one.

Courts, opposing counsel, and government agencies

If your case is filed, certain information becomes part of the court record and is shared with opposing counsel. We talk through what becomes public before that happens. The firm also responds to lawful subpoenas and court orders, and notifies you first when it is permitted to do so.

What we never do

The firm does not sell or rent your information. We do not exchange it for advertising, marketing partnerships, lead generation, or any form of monetary or non-monetary value.

The firm represents tenants, and many tenants are in situations where the wrong information landing in the wrong place causes real harm. A few categories the firm treats with extra care:

Immigration status

You do not have to share your immigration status to ask the firm for help with a housing matter, and we never share it with a landlord or with any government agency outside the case itself. California law forbids landlords from using immigration status as a weapon. Civil Code section 1940.3 and Code of Civil Procedure section 1161.4 are the relevant authority, and we apply them.

Section 8 and other subsidies

If you receive a Section 8 voucher or another housing subsidy, the firm treats that information as part of your file, not as something to be discussed casually. We will tell you in advance if a step in your case requires the housing authority to be notified.

Domestic violence and other safety situations

If you have a restraining order, are leaving an unsafe living situation, or have a confidential address through California's Safe at Home program, tell the firm at the start. We will adjust how we contact you, what we put in writing, and what we file publicly.

This website uses a small set of cookies and similar technologies for the site to function (remembering your language preference, for example) and to measure how the site is being used in aggregate (which pages are read, where people come from, whether the site is loading correctly). The measurement is summary-level and is not used to build advertising profiles.

We do not run third-party advertising trackers on this site. We do not place pixels that hand your activity to social networks or ad networks. Most browsers let you block cookies entirely if you want to. The site will still work.

If we ever add analytics that could be tied back to you personally, this page will say so, and the firm will publish a clear opt-out.

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act and the California Privacy Rights Act give you the right to:

• Ask the firm what categories of personal information we have about you.
• Ask for a copy of the specific personal information we hold about you.
• Ask the firm to correct information about you that is inaccurate.
• Ask the firm to delete information about you, subject to the firm's obligation to keep client files for the period required by the State Bar.
• Be free from retaliation for exercising any of these rights.

To make a request, contact the firm using the information at the bottom of this page. We will verify that the request is coming from you (so that nobody else can pull your information by pretending to be you) and then respond within the time the law requires.

You can also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. The firm will ask for written proof of that authorization before acting.

The firm keeps closed client files for the period required by the California Rules of Professional Conduct and by the firm's professional liability obligations. After that period, files are destroyed in a way that protects the information they contain (shredded paper, securely wiped electronic storage).

If you contacted the firm but did not become a client, the firm keeps your intake information for a limited period for conflict-of-interest checks and to avoid losing track of you if you call back, then deletes it.

Web-server logs are kept for a short rolling window for security and troubleshooting, then overwritten.

The firm uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the information you share. That includes encrypted email for sensitive communications, two-factor authentication on systems that hold client data, access controls inside the firm, and backups.

No system can promise perfect security. If a breach affects your information, the firm will notify you as required by California law (Civil Code sections 1798.29 and 1798.82), tell you what happened in plain English, and tell you what we are doing about it.

One practical note: email is not encrypted by default. If you are about to send the firm something sensitive (medical information, immigration status details, photographs that identify other people), call us. We will tell you the safest way to send it.

This website is not directed at children under thirteen. The firm does not knowingly collect personal information from children under thirteen through the site. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has shared information with the firm through the site, contact us and we will delete it.

If the firm is helping a household where a child has been harmed by a housing condition (for example, lead paint or mold), the firm will collect information about the child only with the parent or guardian and only as the case requires.

The firm updates this page when the law changes or when the way the firm handles information changes. The “updated” date at the top of the page reflects the most recent revision. When a change materially affects how your information is used, the firm will say so on the home page for a reasonable period and, where the law requires, will contact existing clients directly.