Steven Adair MacDonald

If you are honest and have an honest grievance needing legal resolution, Steven Adair MacDonald and Partners will do everything they can to help you. Steven Adair MacDonald never said very much but as soon as he agreed to take on my case, actions were immediate. He simply stated: "We'll get it settle...d" and he/they did! I'm an 80-year-old woman and a San Francisco tenant for over 30 years. About ten years ago, I had rented my own bedroom (I moved into the living room) to college students to help pay the rent. A year ago, I foolishly rented my room to a middle-age woman who towers over me and lied about everything to gain entrance to my home. This subtenant blamed all her problems on me, picked fights with me for no reason and then accused me of provoking them and her verbal abuse and threats became increasingly vicious, especially to my cats. I asked her to move out, but her reply was that she was not going to move out, soon or ever! The Rent Board informed me that because I had never told this subtenant that I could evict her without just cause before signing the rental agreement, I could be doomed to live in the same one bedroom apartment with the abusive tyrant for the rest of my life if she refused to vacate. When I appealed to the S.F. Department of Adult Protective Services, the personnel felt I did have a case but not enough hard proof so they could not really do anything. I finally hired a lawyer, but I soon got the feeling that he was really working for my abuser, as he consistently sided with the abuser and implied I was to blame. The months of coping with a vicious subtenant and an "incompetent lawyer" who often put me in physical danger of the vicious subtenant's temper, and then this complete betrayal of my trust by the "representatives of Justice" drove me to a near physical and mental collapse. The moment Mr. MacDonald took my case, everything changed for me. He immediately had Priscilla, his assistant, draw up a Request for Dismissal. That Thursday morning when I again entered that Courtroom to face again that same Judge, I somehow felt as if Priscilla towered by my side. But, of course, Priscilla was not present at all. As soon as the Judge saw I had not appeared with a new lawyer, He launched into another round of rebukes against me that had been repeated many times for hours that last Monday. Finally, a clerk tried three times in a timid voice to inform the Judge that my case had already been dismissed. When she finally succeeded in her third effort, Wow, the look on the face of that Judge was everything I could have wished for. All he said was, "Oh, well, then, there is no need to proceed further." And I was finally free from him and injustice! To me, my case seemed very simple. But for the lawyers, even the most experienced and successful, certain San Francisco rental laws have made even a clear case of justice/injustice become very difficult to win. Nevertheless, Steven Adair MacDonald and Partners did finally get my subtenant to sign a Stipulation in which she admitted I had just cause to evict her. I can't describe specifically all that Steven MacDonald did to win my case but as the other two very dedicated partners, Danny Wang and Tiffany Hufford, who did most of the concrete work on my case, were very young, I imagine Mr. MacDonald's years of experience must have helped guide them to final success. What I did always feel and am most grateful for is that he seemed to really sympathize with my plight as a victim, and if Steven Adair MacDonald decided to do something about it, he would do it, whether alone, by his partners or together with his partners. Finally, I was no longer alone; I had honest and very capable lawyers on my side! That was the Tower of Strength I felt standing with me that day in Court and throughout my struggle. No words can ever express my gratitude to Steven Adair MacDonald and his partners for giving me back my life, my home and hope for my one remaining cat.