I hate to write a 1-star review, but I feel it is my duty to share my horrible experience and let…read moreothers be aware of who they are really dealing with.
I wish I could say he was at least a nice guy, but I can't -- Matthew Tannenbaum is not a nice guy, and he's a bad lawyer.
I honestly can't believe I let him sweet-talk me into being my attorney. I'm an amateur landlord, and I thought hiring an "experienced" eviction lawyer would help me navigate a stressful situation. Instead, he took advantage of me the same way my tenant had been doing for years.
From day one, things went downhill after I sent my first retainer installment. Once he got my money, he became almost impossible to reach. Calls were routed through an answering service, and every time I managed to get him on the phone, he rushed me off within 15 minutes -- often sighing, sucking his teeth, and reminding me he "doesn't care" and that it's "my decision what to do." That is not what you want to hear from someone you've just paid thousands of dollars to represent you.
After paying him more than $3,000, I expected at least some level of courtesy and communication. Instead, he dismissed me and my family as if we were nothing. He even tried to debate how much I had actually paid him, completely disregarding the thousands I had already given. To make matters worse, his own typographical error on the court application delayed my case by a month, costing me an additional $1,600 in state taxes. And yet, he acted as if he was doing me a favor and had "waived" his fees, when the reality is his mistakes were costing me.
Some of the most outrageous moments:
Before trial, he told me repeatedly that he "doesn't care what happens" and that "if you don't like it, you can release me and get a new attorney tomorrow."
He actually said to me: "Don't be a landlord. It costs a lot of money to be one, so don't do it." I had already paid him thousands, and this was the advice I was getting.
He told me to "just leave the guy alone" when I asked about storage, as if I was the aggressor and my tenant -- who was living rent-free in my home -- was the victim.
He filed my sheriff's eviction request late (two days after I gave him the fee), which landed on a weekend and then a holiday, gifting my nightmare tenant an extra 3 days in my house to cause damage.
Despite me asking, he failed to tell me in advance that I would be responsible for paying the tenant's movers and one month of storage. I only found out days before the eviction, and the bill came to well over $5,000. Ironically, my squatter ended up with a better moving service than I use for myself.
He insisted eviction records and credit impacts are "myths," and pushed settlement. But what's the point of an eviction if it doesn't deter horrible tenants? I thought this process would put something on my tenant's record, yet my tenant walked away scot-free while I lost tens of thousands of dollars.
And here's where it gets even worse: my tenant actually admitted on video that he personally knew my lawyer, since they worked in the same building. That's not speculation -- that's a fact. Knowing this, it's hard not to question why my lawyer consistently acted in ways that benefited my tenant, even if indirectly. Whether intentional or not, the result was the same: my tenant got to stay in my house longer, cost me more money, and walked away with more than he ever should have.
Throughout the entire case, Matthew Tannenbaum gave my tenant every advantage while treating me -- his paying client -- with disrespect and neglect. He was more of a salesman than an advocate. You'll get more useful advice from strangers on Reddit than from him.
I have every receipt and proof to corroborate this bad experience. If challenged, I can back up every claim I've made here.
If you value your time, money, and sanity, avoid Matthew Tannenbaum at all costs. Save yourself the stress and go with someone who will actually have your back, not your tenant's.
