Law Office of Paul P. DeAngelis
Real Estate Law
Paul embraces civility, respect, and professionalism in his practice and applies his experience in and out of court to fit each matter—some call for settlement talks or mediation, and others call for trial themes and admissible evidence. Paul was selected to the 2025 Northern California Super Lawyers List, where only 5% of lawyers in the state are selected based on peer recognition and professional achievement. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum®, The Top Trial Lawyers in America®. After graduating with honors from Boston University School of Law in 1996, Paul worked at litigation firms in San Francisco. From 2003 to 2015, he worked at a San Francisco firm emphasizing real estate litigation and trial practice. Since 2015, he has run his own law firm and continues to concentrate on real estate matters, including:
- Tree Law & Neighbor Disputes for homeowners related to dangerous or nuisance tree and root problems, preserving trees, maintenance plans, view and sunlight rights, wildlife issues, property line problems, encroachments, easements, walls, HOAs, and noise, barking dogs, or other nuisance problems.
- Construction Law & Projects for owners, builders and developers including construction contracts, construction defect litigation, and construction disputes like neighbor problems.
- Tenant Rights & Contingency Representations for tenants under the San Francisco Rent Ordinance related to habitability, e.g., no heat, illegal units, electrical issues, leaks, unsafe conditions, tenant harassment, wrongful and constructive evictions, building fires, discrimination, OMIs, and unlawful rent increases.
- Buyer & Seller and Ownership Disputes representing property owners regarding alleged nondisclosure or misrepresentation claims, mediation, HOA issues, partition actions, and historic property investigations.
- Civil Rights Litigation for tenants alleging housing discrimination as well as for citizens alleging racial profiling and wrongful detention, including Bane and Ralph Act claims.
Paul teaches at San Francisco State University’s College of Professional & Global Engagement (Paralegal Program) and serves on its Advisory Board. His courses include real estate law, investigation, discovery, and trial, and ethics and public speaking. Paul teaches the Fair Housing Act and history of housing discrimination in the real estate course. And, in other courses, he teaches about the history of gender classification laws and the EPC of the 14th Amendment though Justice Ginsburg’s attorney work before SCOTUS in the 1970s. Paul also presents to attorneys on topics related to his practice areas through the Continuing Education of the Bar.
Paul’s more recent pro bono work included representing:
- Vietnam Veterans in a neighbor dispute arising from construction project.
- WWII Veteran regarding real estate investment issues.
- Representing elderly homeowner to assist with properly damage claim.
- Non-profit wildlife group to assist with agreement for major funding.
- Elderly tenant where new owners sought unlawful changes to tenancy.
- Elderly homeowner to assist on ownership and wealth-transfer issues.
Paul swims in the Bay. He was featured on KQED’s My Spot. Listen to Paul’s interview My Spot: Braving the Icy Waters of San Francisco Bay.
Testimonials
I never expected that I would have such a satisfactory outcome. I couldn’t have done it without Paul.”
– Homeowner with neighbor tree problem
As Vietnam Veterans, we appreciate your outstanding pro bono work for us. We cannot thank you enough for your hands-on approach to assist us in resolving the issue with our neighbor.”
– April Calvin, U.S. Army Nurse
– Riel Calvin, U.S. Army, 199th Infantry
An unusual attorney—pleasant, warm, and understanding.”
– World War II Veteran, B17 Bomber Pilot
Paul has great instincts, and executes them well. After bringing him into a months-long real estate-related liability negotiation, Paul quickly assessed the situation and provided a new approach. To our surprise, we were able to quickly resolve the conflict completely in our favor!”
– From a buyer
Paul reviewed a lease of a potential office for my company and saved us from a nightmare situation. The lease was 20+ pages and I didn’t have time to read it. With just a few hours of work, Paul was able to point out some major issues with the lease. He didn’t tell us no, he presented us with facts which I found super helpful.”
– Andrew Munday, Startup Founder
We had a noise nuisance and health issues with a neighbor that was causing a lot of problems. After exhausting all the public resources available, we hired Paul DeAngelis to help us out. Paul did a great job listening to our concerns and he was super responsive, which made us feel comfortable working with him. Paul developed a strategy, which, I’m happy to report, helped us rectify the nuisance in a short amount of time. If you live in San Francisco and you are experiencing nuisance issues with a neighbor, I strongly recommend you contact Paul. We found him to be fair and an overall joy to work with. And most importantly, he fixed our problem.”
– Homeowner in Neighbor Dispute
[Note: These testimonials are not guarantees, warranties, or predictions about the outcome of your legal matter. Those who seek legal advice should consult with and hire a qualified attorney about the facts and/or issues of their particular matter.]