Marc Drew Whitham

Marc did an outstanding job representing us on a disputed lease extension with our landlord who had sold the property we were renting. We ended up with a fair resolution where the other parties agreed to honor our lease extension and avoided a potentially costly litigation.

We can’t say enough great things about Marc Witham. He is professional, responsive, and has excellent follow-through. Most important, he is highly knowledgeable of California state rental laws so he’s well qualified to put landlords in their place. In our case, my wife and I had lived in a rental house for seven years and always had a good relationship with the landlord. Due to an undiscovered water leak, the wood floors in the house began to heave and buckle over the course of a month. The landlord’s handyman removed a section of flooring and we observed white mold covering the dirt crawl space. The entire floor needed to be removed and the mold remediated. Rather than work with us to temporarily move out, the landlord sent us an email stating she had no choice but to evict us. We’re certain the true reason she evicted us was to substantially increase the rent. The effect on us was that we were pushed into a highly inflated San Diego rental market, with rents at 30% and higher than what we’d been paying. Panic set in the moment we received the 60-day notice. When we were evicted, our stress levels reached boiling point as our landlord kept calling us daily to find out when we’d be moving. We needed help right away. Marc’s online appointment system let us set up an initial consultation (we were able to schedule a call the very next morning). As residential tenants, it cost us $160 for our first call. That may seem like a lot, but the waves of relief we felt afterward made it well worth the money. It’s the relief from stress that we appreciated most. What we really needed was enough time to find a new rental. On that first call, after hearing our situation Marc was immediately able to cite a state code section that granted us far longer than the landlord’s 60-day notice. He also advised that her notice wouldn’t hold up because it wasn’t properly formatted or delivered. It was clear we were working with the right attorney for the job. Our rental situation dragged on for over two months, and we spent just under $1,000 in attorney fees. It was worth every cent. Marc initially issued a detailed letter, filled with legal citations specific to our case (i.e., not a form letter), that pushed back on the landlord. When she kept calling us, which we considered harassment at that point, Marc intervened again and asserted he was now acting as our voice, stating all communications needed to go through him. Words can’t express the relief we felt. Not only did Marc get us the time we needed to find a new place, he also helped negotiate an equitable settlement so we could recoup expenses we’d suffered. We’re not talking millions here, but it was enough to ease the pain and cover our moving costs. If you’re in a bind with your landlord, I would highly suggest Marc’s services. My wife and I remain confident that hiring Marc was the smartest move we possibly could have done. – Kurt S.

I felt very comfortable to have Mr. Marc Whitham on my side iin the Superior Court Room in my appeal case. There are cases where unscrupulous Landlords cannot win if the Plaintiff is represented by Marc Whitham, Lawyer.

I contacted Marc Whitham, about 5 months ago, after being served an unlawful detainer notice. I had previously talked to a couple of other legal firms, and they just wanted my money with no real legal help. Because of the way landlords handle unlawful detainer notices, I had to act within 5 days, so I had to get to the courthouse and file paperwork the same day, as our meeting. In our meeting, Marc suggested that I vacate the premise before the court trial date, so as to be able to walk into court saying I no longer live at premise here are the keys. I think this strategy worked the best for me, he was able to negotiate with the landlords attorney, and get back to me. I followed up with Marc on several occasions, asking if he had heard anything, I was even contacted by my landlords internal "legal" department and I told them "you sued me you need to contact my attorney", he tried on several occasions to get in touch with them. After my court date Marc, filed a settlement offer to landlords attorney, they didn't respond to offer, 30 days lapsed, and I called Marc again, and he said we just need to wait. So I sent an e-mail 2 weeks after to Marc asking if there is any progress, he contacted there attorney, who told him the case was dismissed and that my landlords had sent this to a third party collection agency. So all in all, I feel I won as im not paying a third party collection agency, because there was no judgment against me. Marc, suggestion of moving out before trial was extremelly helpful, because the landlord no longer has the upper hand and you are no longer unlawful detaining property, when you go to trial, I returned keys, and gate keys to Marc, here is what my client is offering. It became a negotiation between legal counsel even the judge was happy with it. I would defintely recommend Marc, he was calm, and he was professional, every time I called or emailed, I got a response within 24 hours, extremelly happy with outcome. I have never been served an unlawful detainer, so I was nervous and scared, but hiring an attorney to represent me, and navigate the legal aspect, really took the stress away. I still had to show up in court, and there is a court fee for responding to an unlawful detainer. From our first initial meeting he was upfront, and honest about his fees. This apartment complex has several locations in California and across country, The firm representing Landlord, is the largest in our city.