Law Offices Of John E Gutierrez

In 2004 (eleven years ago) I bought a condo adjoining my condo with the intention of changing the property lines between the two, enlarging my residence and artist studio by 200 s. f, and decreasing the new unit by the same amount. My real estate agent recommended John E. Gutierrez to me. At the time I had no idea that my heretofore small, friendly home owners association would rise up in revolt over this seemingly simple plan. John successfully steered me clear through the morass. I believe that every litigant/​complainant needs to be vigilant, that their job is to make sure their attorney is on top of their case, that their attorney understands their «employer’s» point of view, and doesn’t just sit back passively. That was how I approached John Gutierrez. He did not disappoint me.

I cannot recommend John’s services. I had a simple lease matter that he told me would take an hour of his billable time. He ended charging me over 2.5 times the original quote. If he had told me 2 hours from the outset, I might not have balked. But as it stands, it felt like a bait and switch to me. He came recommended by my real estate agent, but BEWARE!

John is extremely personable when you first meet him, and as he was referred to me by my real estate agent, I didn’t question his professional knowledge.
I just went to the Berkeley Rent Board to file a legal notice I received from John and was horrified to find that all of the required elements for this notice were actually not included. Had the Rent Board not advised me, I would have left myself open to being sued and potentially losing the case due to this technicality. Note that there were like 6 items. Had I just filed the form myself, I would have done a much better job and not wasted time and money.
Also, it turned out that there was a mediation option offered by the Rent Board which I believe John should have told me about, as it would have prevented the end result which was the worst case scenario.
I should have known that he didn’t know what he was doing when I frequently had to tell him the legal specifics/​limitations about my specific situation that I had gleaned from reading city ordinances. It really made me wonder why I was paying $ 400+/hr for legal expertise.
John clearly does a good job of building relationship with real estate brokers who refer him to clients, but in my particular instance, I found John’s legal counsel to be detrimental and his mistakes to be costly.
I would not recommend him to anyone who is looking for accurate legal advice and services.

John has been a huge asset to my real estate development business. His knowledge of national, state and local laws as well as his expansive relationships with financial, real estate brokerages and developers makes him a terrific source for the most current requirements and business practices. That detailed knowledge has paid off for me in advice in areas as diverse as city building department process to tenancy law in the Bay Area. His «local savvy» has also contributed to the development of critical documents such as deeds and CCRs. And perhaps best of all, as busy as John is, he finds a way to help when I’m in a pinch.