Mark Briseno Almanza

I spoke to Attorney Almanza on two separate occasions via a 20-minute chat through Rocket Lawyer. (Once in April 2026 and then most recent Oct 2026) Both times that we spoke was regarding an issue with my landlord. Unfortunately, the first time he and I spoke back in April he was not pleasant at all.... He was actually the TOTAL OPPOSITE! He was rude and I felt very disrespected. It was hard for me to keep my composure when you have someone talking down to you as if you are stupid or a child. It was so bad that I ended up asking him if he was okay and that I was sorry if I said something to offend him in anyway. He said I did not say anything offensive. However, I told him I would have thought differently by the way he was speaking to me. The question that I had was regarding being overcharged by my landlord. I told him I paid the money in duress for fear of getting threatened with eviction. I wanted to know if I had any options in regard to fighting the landlord in court. He advised me if I did that was over because I should not have paid the landlord anything if I was disputing the charge. He said he did not know much about what was going on but there was nothing I could do. He also asked me if I thought it worth wanting to fight the landlord and go to court anyway. At that point I told him that I was sorry for wasting his time and have a wonderful day. I notified Rocket Lawyer of my experience and his lack of professionalism. However, I did speak with another attorney through Rocket Lawyer who was phenomenal. Fast forward to October I had another dilemma with the landlord overcharging and fraudulent fees. I have all my documentation and I have not paid. Nonetheless, I wanted to see if there were any options that I might have in regard to taking the landlord to court. I paid my rent minus the disputed charges, but the landlord tried intimidating me and threatened me with being in breach of my lease. So, what did I do look at my lease and actually found there was a $15 fee listed as "Other" on my lease and when I asked the landlord what it was, they refused to acknowledge or explain. Once again I turn to Rocket Lawyer & was told by a lawyer outside of IL that I was wronged & the landlord could be in big trouble. I was instructed to find a litigation attorney with knowledge of tenant/landlord law. Rocket Lawyer's database paired me w/Attorney Almanza. I hoped things would be different the second time around. I WAS WRONG! While speaking to him I was mindful of the time and I tried hitting key points of concern. He then asked me a question about if there was something in the lease that gave a breakdown of how things were to be paid monthly. I was uncertain of the question because the only breakdown that I had was via my residential portal through the landlord. He was extremely harsh and belittling. "I am asking you what the lease says about the breakdown of payment. That is not hard to understand. Either it does or it doesn't." Surely if there was such a thing in the lease, I'm certain the landlord would have used it by now. I then heard a low murmur, "This seems petty." I was stunned. I said, "I'm sorry?" He gave the reply several times that he said that he knows things had to be frustrating for me. THAT WAS A LIE! I have since spoken with an attorney who is assisting me. Nonetheless, I wish Attorney Almanza the best. My prayer is that he would be mindful of his attitude and the way he is coming across to potential clients. (people can & will match your energy) When you give people respect, it goes a long way. The company that I rent from is a huge corp w/properties all over the country. Let’s say the landlord has 200,000 rental properties & they are fraudulently charging each resident $15 per month (an amount tiny to some) Take $15 and times it by 200,000….this landlord makes $3,000,000 fraudulently each month. (A LOT OF MONEY) There's nothing petty about it!I hope sharing my experience will be of some help to someone else!