Ethan Silverstein
Adjunct Professor
Bio
Ethan Silverstein (he/him) is a graduate of UC Law and a Managing Attorney at the California Center for Movement Legal Services, a nonprofit tenants’ rights organization that uses litigation to support tenant organizing.
On behalf of his clients, Ethan has advocated for tenants in rent board hearings and appeals, eviction defenses, small claims appeals, tenant harassment cases, wrongful evictions, class actions, public injunctions, and appeals in California’s Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Ethan specializes in complex affirmative matters aimed at landlords who create hostile living environments for their tenants through various harassment tactics. He has litigated collective actions on behalf of groups of as many as fifty tenants.
In addition to his litigation, Ethan has extensive experience working alongside community organizations to advocate for tenant-friendly policies. He has worked on legislative matters at the state level and in jurisdictions including San Diego, Sacramento, Richmond, Oakland, Alameda County, Concord, Antioch, and Los Angeles. Ethan also has experience defending community organizations, their staff, and their members in legal matters.
Ethan’s published scholarly work on government-mandated nuisance evictions has been cited by the Los Angeles Times, the California Research Bureau, and the City of Oakland. He has also testified before California’s State Assembly Judiciary Committee as an expert on ratio utility billing services.