About Joseph
Joseph Tobener built his professional life around housing law and tenant advocacy in the Bay Area. He combined formal training in law and counseling early in his career, earning a Master of Science in Counseling from San Francisco State University in 1996 and a Juris Doctor from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco in 1999. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Los Angeles.
He moved into practice shortly after law school and by 2000 was serving as managing partner at the Tobener Law Center. That role placed him at the center of landlord-tenant litigation and policy disputes in San Francisco. Over the years his practice expanded beyond a single office. He now practices through Tobener Ravenscroft LLP, which maintains offices in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
Tobener’s professional life has blended courtroom work, community counseling and legal teaching. He has been a counselor for the San Francisco Tenants Union since 2002 and a member of that organization since 2001. He joined the San Francisco Tenant Lawyers Bar Association in 2011 and has been a member of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association since 2014. His membership record points to regular involvement in local bar activities and cooperative work among tenant advocates and trial practitioners.
Teaching has been a parallel track. He served as an adjunct professor at the University of California Hastings College of Law from 2006 to 2008 and has provided continuing legal education as an adjunct professor for San Francisco State University since 2007. Those roles kept him engaged with the next generation of lawyers and with practical instruction for practicing attorneys.
In practice, Tobener’s work centers on housing-related cases: eviction defense, lease disputes, habitability issues and other tenant rights matters. He handles litigation in California courts and represents tenants in administrative and community forums. His courtroom work is informed by years working with tenant organizations and by a background in counseling that he uses when advising clients facing displacement or housing instability.
Colleagues and clients see him as a lawyer who combines courtroom experience and community-based knowledge. He maintains an active practice through Tobener Ravenscroft LLP, serving clients from offices in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose and continuing his involvement in tenant advocacy and legal education. He currently practices tenant and housing law at Tobener Ravenscroft LLP, serving offices in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
