Eric M. Steven

Eric M. Steven is the Principal and Managing Lawyer of Steven Law Office in Spokane with a practice emphasis in the area of landlord-tenant relations and housing. He practices in both state and federal courts in all Washington counties east of the Cascades and in northern Idaho. Mr. Steven litigates landlord/tenant cases involving eviction, ejectment, commercial litigation, fair housing claims, and a variety of other landlord-tenant issues. He is one of the few attorneys in Washington to actually defend a fair housing case in a federal court jury trial.  He serves as legal counsel for property owners, landlords, property managers, multifamily housing providers, subsidized housing providers, manufactured housing communities, commercial property owners, and mobile home parks throughout Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, providing continuity of legal services to clients operating across multiple rural and urban jurisdictions. Mr. Steven is active in legislative reform and advisory counsel for the Washington Apartment Association. 

Mr. Steven earned his B.A. degree from the University of Oklahoma and his J.D. degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. As a licensed instructor in real estate, he frequently lectures to attorneys, property managers, law enforcement, and owners at continuing legal education programs. He is the author of From Landlord/Tenant to Debt  Collector/Consumer and Back Again, Gonzaga Law Review, Vol. 35, 1999-2000, No 2., and A Comparison of Residential Tenancies in Idaho and Washington State (2013), now available on the internet, publication pending. For the last several years, Mr. Steven has been an invited speaker at the Trends conference in Seattle, Washington, the northwest's largest rental housing management conference. As one of the most highly evaluated CLE instructors statewide in 2003, he was selected by the Washington State Bar Association to speak in the WSBA Encore "Best of CLE" series. 

Mr. Steven is a frequent speaker for the Washington State Bar and Spokane County Bar Association. He is a member of the Washington State, Idaho, Spokane County, Federal, and Eastern District of Washington Bankruptcy bar associations. In 2019, Steven Law Office was named Top Housing Law Firm of the Year by Lawyer Monthly magazine. In 2023, Inc. magazine named Steven Law Office a Power Partner in business. Mr. Steven was named by National Business Institute, a nationwide CLE sponsor, as the “Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year for 2023” and again in 2024, based upon peer review and other factors. Mr. Steven was recently recognized as a 2026 “Super Lawyer”, a distinction awarded to the top five percent of attorneys nation wide through Super Lawyers’ peer influenced and research-driven selection process. 

Throughout his career, Mr. Steven has represented landlords through every stage of Washington's landlord-tenant process, including statutory notices, lease enforcement, eviction prevention requirements, Pathways, Notices Initiating Eviction Prevention, unlawful detainer actions, show cause hearings, writs of restitution, sheriff lockouts, appeals, judgments, fair housing litigation, commercial tenancy disputes, and manufactured housing matters. His comprehensive understanding of Washington's evolving landlord-tenant laws allows him to guide property owners through complex legal issues efficiently and effectively. 

RECOGNIZED LEADERSHIP

_________

 ⚜️ Super Lawyers®
      Selected to the 2026 Washington Super Lawyers® List

🎙️ Frequent Speaker
      WSBA • SCBA • HUD • WSHRC • RHA • WBPA • MHCW • IHFC • IFHC

📖 Author & Legal Educator

🛡️ Industry Advocate for Landlords' Rights

Mr. Steven's practice includes residential evictions, commercial evictions, unlawful detainer actions, ejectment actions, lease drafting, lease enforcement, fair housing defense, housing discrimination claims, manufactured housing communities, landlord liens, judicial foreclosures, subsidized housing, multifamily housing, commercial tenancy disputes, property management issues, housing litigation, appellate matters, and legislative advocacy involving Washington landlord-tenant law. 

🏢 Continuity of Service

We excel in providing continuity of service to multifamily subsidized housing providers operating in multiple rural jurisdictions.

AWARDS & PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION

_________

🏆 National & State Recognition

•  2026 Washington Super Lawyers®
• 2026 Top Attorney – West Central
• 2025 Best Attorney – West Central
• Elite Lawyer (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Avvo Top-Rated Lawyer (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023)
• Lawyers of Distinction (2019)

 🌎 International Recognition

• Corporate INTL Global Award
  Housing Litigation Law Firm of the Year
• Global Law Experts Award
  Housing Litigation Law Firm of the Year

 🤝 Industry Recognition

• Friend of Fair Housing
• NARPM Outstanding Service to the Property Management Industry
• Top Attorneys – Selected by Their Peers
• Housing Law Firm of the Year
• Inc. Power Partner

 🎖️ Career Honors

• Strathmore's Who's Who Honors