Brian Schuk wasn’t really a big renter as a student at UW-Milwaukee. He was fortunate enough to have parents who owned housing, allowing him to reside in their facilities as a renter.

Until he attended graduate school at Marquette University, Schuk never had to deal with the issues of landlords many college students experience.

He decided to start out as a landlord attorney in 2001 by advertising on a website he created. Although Schuk had planned on getting calls from landlords needing assistance in evictions, he said he unexpected began receiving phone calls from tenants.

All of the cases contained legitimate complaints against landlords who were violating tenants’ rights, Schuk said.

As a result, Schuk now works as a partner with Wassel, Harvey & Schuk, LLP, in Delavan as an attorney for tenants and landlords.

Some tenant cases he deals with include building code violations, having no hot water, improper heating, mold and mildew, unsafe living conditions, landlords walking in without notice, and landlords not returning security deposits within 21 days of vacating the premises.

“I had a case in Walworth County where tenants were complaining that they had multiple bats flying around,” Schuk said. “The landlord had blamed them for letting the bats in.”

With his experience as a landlord attorney, he became frustrated hearing about how some of the landlords around the state were handling their tenants.

“At some point, someone had to stand up and do something,” Schuk said. “So I started representing tenants and kept winning.”

In a given week, Schuk talks to about five tenants; he almost never asks them to pay anything. If he does ask them to pay for anything, it is usually for the filing fees of starting a lawsuit, which is usually nominal, Schuk said.

“It’s great to hear that there’s an attorney out there that will help with landlord/tenant issues,” Walworth County resident Mandy Casper said. “I’m not a student, but I have had to deal with the same sort of issues that other tenants have and it’s frustrating.”

Tenants and landlords are encouraged to call the Wassel, Harvey & Schuk, LLP, law firm at 262-728-0700.

“At the end of the day, success buys how my client feels and not what I do,” Schuk said. “Our business is to make our clients happy, not to make them feel like they’ve made a bad decision.”