Kenneth H. Carlson — Founder & Principal Attorney

Ken Carlson has been an attorney helping tenants since 1980, over 45 years ago. He created the caltenantlaw.com website in 1999. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Loyola Law schools. He is admitted to practice in all California courts, and in the federal court system up through the United States Supreme Court. He has taught the Department of Real Estate course on landlord-tenant law to real estate brokers who planned to do property management. He set up the caltenantlaw.com network of tenant lawyers throughout California to provide help to the millions of tenants who need it.

Unlike most lawyers, Ken came from poverty, initially living in a trailer with a leaky ceiling in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Ken worked his way through college and law school doing various jobs such as janitor, English teacher, real estate salesman, theater manager, steel worker, warehouseman, bartender, security guard, dish washer, gym manager, parking valet, and law clerk. He has faced eviction, and financially struggled for much of his pre-law life. He understands what most of his clients are going through: been there, done that, and has the t-shirt.

Ken has lived a colorful life. He wrote the musical comedy, Legal Ethics, which you can download from this website. He invented the Facsuit, for those who have to work from home but attend formal video meetings (Facsuit.com). He designed the entire caltenantlaw.com website and software that enables large law firms to work from home. He has been a hang glider, scuba diver, backpacker, motorcyclist, music composer, playwright, actor, singer, world traveler, and student of a few languages. For more than 20 years, he has resided in the mountain resort village of Idyllwild, California, and is the operator of its visitors’ website, MyIdy.net.

Ken finds empowering tenants to be personally rewarding, like teaching David how to use a sling against Goliath. He has taken the fear out of landlord bullying attempts by re-framing the eviction process into the Game Board, and providing the many instructional Pre-consultation Videos for tenants to learn about their rights and how to beat the landlord at their own game. Providing a cost-effective system, by cutting the overhead of an office and using technology to help tenants win against their wealthy landlords was the goal of this website. He feels privileged to be able to help those who were living as he did, and turn the tables on the spoiled brat landlords who thought they could get away with it.