How do I evaluate an eviction attorney in California?

Verify active licensure through the State Bar of California, then ask about volume and side: unlawful detainer practice is fast and procedural, so frequency in your county's UD departments matters. Ask how notice defects, local ordinances, and lease fee clauses affect your case, and get the fee basis in writing before the deadlines run.

Two facts shape the evaluation: unlawful detainer cases move faster than almost any other California civil case, and they are won or lost on procedure. Start by confirming the attorney is an active licensee with no relevant discipline in the State Bar of California's public records (Business and Professions Code section 6125). Then ask questions that reveal fit. How often does the attorney appear in your county's unlawful detainer departments, and for which side? For tenants: what defenses do the notice and service suggest, does a local rent ordinance apply, and is legal aid an option given the ten-court-day response window (Code of Civil Procedure section 1167)? For landlords: who drafts the notices — most lost cases fail on defective notices — and what happens if the tenant answers? On price, ask whether the lease's attorney fee clause is reciprocal under Civil Code section 1717 and whether a flat fee covers trial. A written fee agreement stating the fee's basis should come before any money does.

Authority: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6125; State Bar of California