While L.A. has a reputation for being an early-to-bed kind of town, there are many late-night spots (as in open after 11 p.m.) — if you know where to look for them. We've put together a comprehensive guide, by neighborhood, so that wherever you are when the hunger pangs strike, there's somewhere to head.
Why it matters: Because when you stumble out of the party, or bar, or concert, (or yes, even after the late shift), eating a convenience store hot dog just doesn't cut it.
Why now: Our last guide to L.A.'s late-night eateries stretches back to pre-pandemic times. A lot has changed since then, especially in the restaurant scene, so we figured it was time to bring everything up to date.
If you’re here, chances are you’re hungry, it’s late, and the clock is ticking. On the upside, traffic isn’t bad this time of night. On the downside, Los Angeles isn’t always known for late-night options unless you know where to go.
For those in the throes of a late-night food mission, let us guide you.
We’ve rounded up a list of (almost) all the late-night restaurants in the city. We skipped the major chains and fast food and decided anything before 11 p.m. isn’t truly late night.
During the pandemic, our city suffered significant restaurant closures. Nearly 100 restaurants from the last iteration of this list (2019) have closed. But while we’ve lost icons like Pacific Dining Car entirely, and Oki Dog now closes at 9 p.m., new spots have popped up in their absence.
One has a one-pound meatball, and another is a drive-thru pizza joint on the Sunset Strip. Koreatown still reigns supreme for late-night eats and adventures, but there’s a new upscale food court smack dab in DTLA.
Read on and bon appetit!
Koreatown, Mid-City, Pico-Union Nobody does late night eats like Koreatown. This bustling, self contained neighborhood has more 24-hour spots per square foot than anywhere else in town.
The obvious choice is Korean cuisine, whether it’s bubbling vegetarian hot pot from BCD Tofu House, street food inspired skewers in a graffitied booth at Dang Sung Sa, or K-fried chicken in a red restaurant that you’ve seen in New Girl.
But if you’re not feeling Korean food, the late night Korean spirit is awake at LOVE HOUR, a once beloved food truck with its own smashburger brick and mortar. While you’re there — don’t skip the elaborate cocktail menu or old school photo booth.
Address: 3470 W. 6th St., #6, Los Angeles, CA 90020 Closing time: Mon to Fri: 11 p.m., Sat/Sun: 1 a.m.
Bob's Big Boy in Burbank
(
Chava Sanchez
/
LAist
)
San Fernando Valley
Don’t call the San Fernando Valley a sleepy suburb. Where it lacks in nightlife options, it’s robust in nighttime food. There’s an array of old school diners, from David Lynch’s favorite Bob’s Big Boy to Mel’s Drive In. For juicy shawarma, try Sincerely Syria, regarded as some of the best Middle Eastern food in the city.
Craving a nostalgic and filling loaded baked potato? While enjoying a jazz performance? This unusual combination is only at The Baked Potato — a jazz club that’s been holding it down for over 50 years with more than a dozen topping combinations. Appetizers and small plates galore both high end (Bacari) and down home (Barney’s Beanery) are available late night for when choosing just one entree seems unfair.
Address: 150 S. San Fernando Blvd. #20, Burbank, CA 91502 Closing time: Mon to Fri: 12 a.m., Sat/Sun:1 a.m.
San Gabriel Valley
Any L.A. foodie knows SGV is heaven for Asian cuisine, and that doesn’t stop at 9 p.m. Grill your own KBBQ at King Charcoal BBQ or no frills fried rice at Phoenix Inn. But the diverse valley has plenty of taco options for just a few bucks each, and some of the city’s favorite pastrami in an unassuming corner stand. Take yours piping hot and freshly sliced in a sandwich or on fries at The Hat.
Address: 306 N. Garfield Ave., Monterey Park, CA 91754 Closing time: Mon to Thurs: 3 a.m., Fri/Sat: 4 a.m. Sun: 12 a.m.
A trio of sausages from Wurstküche
(
Elise Thompson/LAist
)
DTLA
The concert has ended, the club is winding down, you’re downtown, what’s next? In most cities, “downtown” is the epicenter of it all, but Angelenos know our city works a little differently. Nevertheless, from the Historic Core to Little Tokyo to the Arts District, there’s options.
Keep it old school with a french dip at the counter of the over-100-year-old Cole’s (They claim to have invented the sandwich!) . Or give the new Downtown a shot at Level 8, a food and beverage mecca inside the Moxy hotel with Vegas-level immersive, Instagrammable dining, including tacos and shabu shabu open late. If you want to keep it simple, in true L.A. fashion, there are plenty of casual tacos in the area, too.
Address: 800 E. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 Closing time: Sun to Thurs: 12 a.m., Fri/Sat: 1 a.m.
Mel's Drive-in
(
Photo by LaTur via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
)
Hollywood
In Hollywood, sometimes the real party is wherever you grab food after. If you’re looking to see, be seen, and keep the party going, Grandmaster Recorders, inside the same building where David Bowie and the Red Hot Chili Peppers once recorded hits, serves Italian inspired bites till 2 a.m. Bossa Nova Brazilian Cuisine attracts clubgoers and even your favorite rappers who want to soak up the tequila sodas with rich fettuccine alfredo and beans and rice plates. Vegans and meat eaters can indulge at Doomie’s Home Cookin’, an entirely plant-based diner serving comfort food favorites and elaborate house-made desserts.
Address: 5657 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 Closing time: 12 a.m.
Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles
(
Photo by Melissa Acedera via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
)
Long Beach
Taco lovers are lucky with the array of options in Long Beach open late. Tacos Super Gallito has grilled meats, fried fish, fries and aguas frescas at their truck. For dine-in, despite its name, Los Tres Cochinitos serves both meat and mariscos, plus micheladas. While many other locations around town now close too early for this list, the original Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, which opened in 1975 in Long Beach, serves its namesake till midnight.
Address: 225 W. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA 90813 Closing time: 11 p.m.
South Bay
If you’re craving a burger, the South Bay is your oyster — no fast food chains required. Opt for quick and casual at Louis Burgers IV or Fabulous Charbroiled Burgers. Do it up at The Kettle, a diner that uses farmer’s market ingredients. You can get classic pad thai until 2 a.m. at Subhannahong or get quirky with their fusion laab tacos. Like the rest of town, there are late-night pizza and ramen options, too.
Address: 1644 W. Carson St., Torrance, CA 90501 Closing time: 11 p.m.
South L.A.
If you’re in South L.A., we can practically guarantee you’re less than 10 minutes from a King Taco, Tacos Gavilan, or Tacos El Unico. If you want pancakes while your BFF wants a full Thanksgiving dinner plate, there’s art deco legend Norm’s diner running 24 hours too. Mom-and-pop joints like Jim’s Super Burger and Louis Burger II are reliable and greasy in the right way. If you’re feeling bougie (we won’t tell), there’s yet another Bacari in this neck of the woods.
Address: 9901 Long Beach Blvd., Lynwood, CA 90262 Closing time: 11 p.m.
The Eastside
(Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater Village, Los Feliz, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Cypress Park, Lincoln Heights, Boyle Heights, East L.A.)
Mexican food reigns supreme on the Eastside, whether it’s a big plate of enchiladas and a flaming margarita at El Compadre or bubbling, counter-service carnitas from Carnitas Michoacan. For those who want to split a slice of pie and chat into the wee closing hours of the night, Fred 62 has a robust menu with unusual diner options like falafel and familiar favorites, while House of Pies keeps it classic with old school prices, too. Locals know that Red Lion Tavern, a German-style bar, is best known for its wings.
Address: 4738 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90042 Closing time: 11 p.m.
West Hollywood
Got a hot date, but work ran late? West Hollywood is your best bet for high end, table service dinners at European hours. Your Instagram explore page has probably familiarized you with seafood spot CATCH, but newer LAVO Ristorante has a 1 pound meatball on the menu that is just as selfie-worthy and indulgent.
If you can manage to get a last minute table, old school red sauce joint Dan Tana’s will make anyone feel like a regular with service from seasoned waiters in tuxedos. Reality TV lovers may mourn the closing of PUMP, but Vanderpump Rules affiliate Tom Tom is now open. Those not looking to break the bank can go Tokyo mode and slurp ramen at Tatsu after the bars close, eat a hot dog in an old train car at Carneys, or spend under $10 for New York City export Prince Street Pizza (be warned, they don’t serve ranch).
Canter's Deli on Fairfax
(
Photo by Chris_Lott via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
Address: 8684 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069 Closing time: Sun to Thurs: 12 a.m., Fri/Sat: 1 a.m.
Mel's Drive-in on Sunset
(
Photo by LaTur via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr.
)
Westside
Whether you’re a student, a surfer, or just lucky enough to spend a night by the beach, the Westside has plenty of affordable options for a late night bite and a few sit-in restaurants that keep the doors open.
Gorge on a giant sandwich from Fat Sal’s or Johnnie’s Pastrami or ramen from Daikokuya’s west side outpost. For a full restaurant experience, grab a dimly lit booth at La Cabaña for tamales and chile rellanos or head over to sailor themed The Galley for not-too-expensive steaks. Those from the 310 will suggest a hickory burger from West LA institution The Apple Pan. The extremely experienced will remind you to leave room for banana cream pie.
Address: 1440 Lincoln Blvd., Venice, CA 90291 Closing time: Sun to Wed: 12 a.m., Thurs to Sat: 1 a.m.
Restaurants that have closed since our 2019 guide
DTLA: Comfort LA, Coronados, Lupetti Pizzeria, Mezcalero, Pacific Dining Car, Suehiro Cafe, The Little Easy, The Pantry-TomGeorge, Wangs Tavern
Hollywood: 101 Coffee Shop, El Gran Burrito, Kitchen 24, Shin Ramen, Snow White Cafe, The Sit Down, Velvet Margarita, Yogi Dog
Koreatown: Beer Belly, Chadolpoong, Golden Pig, Kang Ho, Dong Baekjeong, KyoChon, Mountain Cafe, Nan Wok House, Plato, Red Pig, Secret IZT, Shuto Izakaya, Shin Jung, Star Night, Spare Tire Kitchen & Tavern, Stone Grill BBQ, Ten Ramen, Tengoku Ramen Bar, Touhmi, Won Jo Kokerang Agurang
Long Beach: Bangkok Blvd Restaurant, Cha2O, La Frida, SongHak
San Fernando Valley: Conrads- Dos Burritos- Harry's Family Restaurant- L'Ambiance Cafe- Nostal Cafe- Rock'n Pies, Trap Fried Chicken, Jerrys Deli
San Gabriel Valley: Altadena Wine & Ale House, Happy Kitchen, NYC Seafood, Tasty Garden
South Bay: Moshi Moshi Mambo, Ryo Zan Paku
South L.A.: Aldewaniah, Diana's Las Playas, El Oaxaco Taqueria y Antojitos Oaxaqueños, Tacos El Sinaloense
The Eastside: Electric Lotus Kitchen of India, Xelas, La India Bonita
West Hollywood: 8oz. Poke, Croft Alley at the Standard, Eveleigh, Greenblatt's, ISA Japanese, Kitchen 24, Michael's Pizza, Oki Dog, One80 Pizzeria, Pearl's Rooftop, Pink Taco, Plancha Tacos, Pump, Rock House Sliders, Saint Felix, Spare Tire, Sweet Chick, The 3rd Stop, The Hudson, The Pikey, The Sunset Trocadero, Toca Madera
Westside: Gabes Bar and Grill, Go Japanese Izakaya, Habibi Cafe, Izzy's Deli, James' Beach, Không Tên, Pacific Dining Car, Pho Shop-Plancha Tacos, Tasty Wok Cuisine, Swingers
Jill Replogle
covers public corruption, debates over our voting system, culture war battles — and more.
Published January 12, 2026 4:46 PM
Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.
(
Jill Replogle
/
LAist
)
Topline:
An Orange County judge pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of mail fraud for his role in a scheme to defraud California’s workers compensation fund.
Who’s the judge? Israel Claustro was a long-time prosecutor who won election to Orange County Superior Court in 2022.
What did he do? While working as an O.C. prosecutor, Claustro also owned a company that billed the state for medical evaluations of injured workers. That was illegal because, in California, you have to be licensed to practice medicine to own a medical corporation.
Anyone else involved? Claustro’s partner in the business was a doctor who had previously been suspended for healthcare fraud and therefore was prohibited from being involved in workers’ comp claims. Claustro knew this and paid him anyway, according to court filings from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Will he go to prison? Claustro could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office is recommending probation instead as part of the deal. In an email to LAist last week, Claustro’s lawyer, Paul Meyer, said his client “deeply regrets” his participation in the business venture and was resigning as judge “in good faith, with sadness.”
What’s next: Claustro is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26. California’s Constitution calls for the governor to appoint someone to temporarily replace Claustro on the bench for the next few years, followed by an election.
Making friends is tough, and only gets tougher as we age. Friendship expert Janice McCabe recently wrote a piece for the New York Times that dug into the way new connections can be forged through finding groups of people with similar lived experiences in the "friendship marketplace."
Why now:Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends author McCabe joined LAist’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle to share her friend-making advice with listeners, and we heard from listeners on how they make friends.
The local angle: With geography, jobs and traffic all making the act of “hanging out” a challenge, listeners shared their friend-catching tips.
Matt in Eagle Rock said, “It takes two people to make that friendship work; you have to put the effort into it. That is the harder part as you get older. I started in an adult dodgeball league, which I had never done in my life. Now I’ve been doing comedy, it's really about getting to know the people.”
Read on... to hear what other listeners had to say.
Topline:
Making friends is tough, and only gets tougher as we age. Friendship expert Janice McCabe recently wrote a piece for the New York Times that dug into the way new connections can be forged through finding groups of people with similar lived experiences in the "friendship marketplace."
Why now:Making, Keeping, and Losing Friends author McCabe joined LAist’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle to share her friend-making advice with listeners, and we heard from listeners on how they make friends.
The local angle: With geography, jobs and traffic all making the act of “hanging out” a challenge, listeners shared their friend-catching tips.
Matt in Eagle Rock said, “It takes two people to make that friendship work; you have to put the effort into it. That is the harder part as you get older. I started in an adult dodgeball league, which I had never done in my life. Now I’ve been doing comedy, it's really about getting to know the people.”
Priyanka in Orange chimed in, "As I have grown older and moved from college in training for so-called adult life, it’s become harder to find friends that you find relatable and who are as invested in the friendship as you yourself are. The new thing I have discovered is Bumble for friends… and so far it's been a good experience.”
Sydney in Koreatown said, “Transitioning from a gay male to a transwoman, I have lost some friends from transitioning, but I have also gained some deeper friendships. It has been a profound and absolutely amazing experience finding common ground, and finding other gay males that support my transition, and finding other trans women that I have a deepening relationship with too.”
Raul in Long Beach alsoweighed in, saying, “You don't need social media. No matter what anyone says, it really is not necessary to meet new people. When you’re not on it, it motivates you to talk to people in person, it commits your attention to them face to face.”
Listen to the full segment to hear McCabe’s advice on finding and maintaining friends.
Listen
17:39
What goes into finding the right friends at the right time?
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Today, 44% of women in America are unpartnered; finding someone and settling down has become less of a priority when they're in their 20s or even 30s. And when some of them are ready to have kids, they aren't letting singlehood deter them.
Reshaped by increased access to IVF:The nation's first IVF baby was born in 1981, when the process was such a novelty that she was referred to as a "test tube baby." Since then, its use has surged in the United States, and today, IVF accounts for almost 100,000 births each year. That's up 50% from 10 years ago.
Cost of IVF:Some people go into debt, while others like Snyder use up their savings. Some women, like Terry, have theirs covered by insurance. Even that is not common — only 1 in 4 companies with more than 200 employees pays for a part of the process.
Read on... for more about IVF.
Laura Terry dreamed of having kids — a family she could call her own. But there was one challenge: She wasn't interested in dating, marriage, or partnering up.
So, she came up with an idea for an unusual present to give herself.
"For my 39th birthday, I bought a vial of donor sperm," says Terry, who lives in Nashville, Tenn., and works at a top management consulting firm.
She started the process of having a baby via in vitro fertilization, or IVF, soon after. This path hadn't occurred to her initially, even though she has a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology. There just wasn't anyone in her orbit who had done it. Her epiphany came from a book in which the author described her own journey with IVF.
"I had never heard of being a single mom by choice before that," says Terry, who is now 44. "It was like a light bulb went off."
That light bulb is going off for a lot of single women. Today, 44% of women in America are unpartnered; finding someone and settling down has become less of a priority when they're in their 20s or even 30s. And when some of them are ready to have kids, they aren't letting singlehood deter them.
Who gets to be a parent is being reshaped by increased access to IVF
The nation's first IVF baby was born in 1981, when the process was such a novelty that she was referred to as a "test tube baby." Since then, its use has surged in the United States, and today, IVF accounts for almost 100,000 births each year. That's up 50% from 10 years ago.
With IVF, which accounts for around 2% of births in America, a woman's eggs are retrieved from her body and fertilized with sperm in a lab. The resulting embryo is then implanted in her uterus, with the hope it will lead to a pregnancy.
This process has opened the door for many people who couldn't otherwise conceive children and reshaped who gets to be a parent, including more LGBTQ+ couples.
It has also become a big driver in the number of older single mothers in the U.S. at a time when the country's overall birth rate is declining. The number of unmarried women in their 40s who are having babies has grown by 250% in the last 30 years, according to data from the government. A portion of these women have partners, but many don't.
Loading...
There are many reasons for this rise, says Rosanna Hertz, author of the book Single By Chance, Mothers by Choice. Increasingly, she says, young women are pursuing higher education, focusing on their careers, or fulfilling personal goals such as traveling around the world or buying homes.
And when they're ready to partner up in their mid-30s, "there's no one to settle down with," says Hertz, a sociologist with a focus on gender and family at Wellesley College. "So, am I going to spend my time waiting for somebody to come along?"
Hertz says her research shows most women who want a family would rather do it with a partner. For them, IVF is Plan B. But as their reproductive windows narrow with age, some decide to move forward by themselves.
A framed photo of Laura Terry with her mother, Jo, holding baby Eleanor.
(
Jessica Ingram
)
Becoming a mother is a marker of adulthood for them, Hertz says.
"There is a sense that I'm now ready to do something that is selfless, that involves the care and nurture of another human being and be part of a broader community," she says. "What a child does is tie you into a community."
Do I really want to have a baby? How do I choose a donor?
Terry saw that care and community in her own sister's family, when it drew her to Nashville to spend time with her nephews.
Once she knew she wanted to be a mom, she started mapping out her path through the language she understood, which is spreadsheets and PowerPoints.
"I made a decision tree," she says.
The root of that tree was a fundamental question: Did she really want a child? It branched from there to examine how she would become a mother and which path would give her the best chance of having a baby. It led her to IVF.
Soon enough, she was faced with another decision: choosing a sperm donor. Faced with an array of choices, she resorted to another spreadsheet "that was like 30 rows long and 30 columns wide."
In it, she started by listing factors like race, height, ethnicity and education. Then she narrowed it down to a few that really mattered to her: "I cared about some physical attributes to look like me. And I cared about family health history."
Terry was extremely lucky with her IVF process: She got pregnant on her first try. She gave birth to Eleanor in 2021 and Margaret came two years later.
"I should be quite grateful for what my process was," Terry says. "The results were beyond what you statistically expect."
Terry actively tries to find ways to engage her kids. Sometimes she buys a "decoy cucumber" so that when she's prepping dinner, 4-year-old Eleanor can peel it and feel helpful. Terry says, "It's a great use of 75 cents for an extra cucumber."
(
Jessica Ingram
)
She's right: The odds of conceiving a child with just one try of IVF are below 50% after a woman turns 35. And the chances drop rapidly each year after that. Many women try multiple cycles of IVF with no guarantee that they'll get pregnant.
Pregnancies at an older age can also carry health risks for both mom and child, with a high chance of miscarriage. All of this can take a huge physical and emotional toll.
Women with higher education are the top users of IVF
When Kate Snyder, who lives in northern New Jersey, was ready to have a kid, she looked for the right guy. "And, you know," she says, "it didn't happen."
Snyder was already in her 40s when she started thinking of IVF.
Kate Snyder and her 2-year-old daughter get ready for day care at their home in northern New Jersey. An interior designer and artist, Snyder made the decision to undergo IVF when she was in her 40s.
(
Thalia Juarez
)
"Once I came to terms with the fact that the father of my child doesn't have to be the person I end up with, and you separate the two, it's very freeing," she says. "And it just took the pressure off."
Now 48, she is the mother of a 2-year-old daughter, who loves to talk and fills their home with chatter. "She comes home from day care with gossip," says Snyder, who is an interior designer and artist. "She's telling me who pooped their pants and how the teacher had a lollipop today and this person got out of her cot."
Snyder says Google, her former employer, covered a small portion of the cost of freezing her eggs. But she paid for the IVF process herself.
Each time a woman tries to get pregnant via IVF, the cost can range from $15,000 to over $30,000. It's why IVF is out of reach for many.
Snyder wasn't prepared in her mid-40s for the amount of carrying her baby needed in the first two years, whether it was up and down the stairs or getting her in and out of the car.
(
Thalia Juarez
)
It's gotten the attention of President Trump. In October, he announced proposals to help reduce the cost of the drugs necessary for IVF. He also encouraged employers to offer broader infertility coverage directly to workers.
Some people go into debt, while others like Snyder use up their savings. Some women, like Terry, have theirs covered by insurance. Even that is not common — only 1 in 4 companies with more than 200 employees pays for a part of the process.
These women, on average, have higher incomes. All that gives them the agency to start and support their own family.
"My knees hurt"
Both Terry and Snyder were financially comfortable enough to step off the career treadmill and create time and space for their new families. Snyder now works four days a week. Terry took a pay cut for a different role that was less intense — it allowed her to work from home and requires less travel. Neither has qualms about it.
"It's so physical being a mom. I don't think I expected that," says Snyder.
(
Thalia Juarez
)
Still, parenting in your 40s is hard.
"It's so physical being a mom. I don't think I expected that," says Snyder, thinking back to her first two years of motherhood and carrying her daughter up and down the stairs or getting her in and out the car. "Motherhood in your 40s, you know, my knees hurt and there are things that are starting to fall apart."
For Terry, one of the hardest parts of being a single mom is not being able to take a break. "If I'm tired or had a rough day at work or I'm frustrated, I'm feeling overwhelmed and I want to step away from my kids, I often can't," she says. "I have to meet their needs first and meet my needs later. And that's hard."
And then there is the weight of decision-making. She discusses her choices with her friends and family, "but ultimately all of that rests on me and that feels really heavy," she says.
Saturday mornings are music class days. Being silly with her kids has helped Terry loosen up and relate to them in a different way. They sing all the time. Her kids make up nursery rhymes on their way to day care or bath time or even while brushing their teeth.
(
Jessica Ingram
/
NPR
)
"Was he sorry I didn't have a husband?"
Even though there are more families like Terry's and Snyder's today, they're still rare. And society hasn't quite caught up with them.
Like when Terry moved to her new home in Nashville, she introduced herself and the girls to a neighbor, who asked what her husband did for work. Terry explained that they were a "mom and kids family" with two cats. The response took her aback.
"He said, 'Oh, I'm so sorry,'" she recalls. "Was he sorry I didn't have a husband? I still don't know to this day. But there is very much like a moment of feeling other and different — and that's often an uncomfortable feeling."
Terry worries about how her daughters will handle such questions. She prepares her oldest child by role-playing with her. But even then, sometimes it doesn't quite play out the way they've practiced.
Recently, she recalls, one of her daughter's classmates said, "'Hey, Eleanor, is that your mom?' And she said, 'Yes.' And they said, 'Well, where's your dad?' And Eleanor just froze in that moment."
But more often than not, the tenderness of motherhood triumphs over such unsettling interactions. Terry treasures the sweet moments she shares with her kids, like when they climb onto her bed in the morning to wake her or when they sit next to each other on the couch to read before bedtime.
"I love moments where they say, 'Mama, I need a snuggle.' Just holding them for a minute or two and seeing how that calms them is really, really powerful."
Copyright 2026 NPR
Terry reads to her daughters as they snuggle with her on the couch.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, a place where the lack of affordable housing contributes to homelessness.
Published January 12, 2026 1:16 PM
Dennis Block discusses Southern California tenant protections in a video posted by the Apartment Owners Association of California.
(
Screenshot via YouTube
)
Topline:
Over his nearly 50-year career, Burbank-based attorney Dennis Block has built a reputation as a staunch advocate for Southern California landlords seeking to evict their tenants. But disciplinary charges filed against him last month by the California State Bar raise questions about his treatment of clients.
The allegations: Block faces charges involving a series of clients over a span of years. According to the 10 counts against him, Block allegedly collected fees wrongly described as “non-refundable,” failed to account for his charges and didn’t return a client’s property in a timely manner following termination of his employment. In one case, Block allegedly failed to pay court sanctions on time. In another, he allegedly created a conflict of interest by representing both a tenant and her landlord.
The backstory: This isn’t the first time Block has faced repercussions for alleged ethical lapses in recent years. In 2023, LAist reported on a filing Block’s firm submitted in an eviction case that contained multiple references to fake case law. Legal experts told us the filing, which led to court sanctions, was likely produced through misuse of AI.
Read on… to learn why legal ethics experts say the charges are serious.
Over his nearly 50-year career, Burbank-based attorney Dennis Block has built a reputation as a fierce advocate for Southern California landlords seeking to evict their tenants.
But disciplinary charges filed against him last month by the California State Bar raise questions about his treatment of clients.
Block faces charges involving a series of clients over a span of years. According to the 10 counts against him, Block allegedly collected payments wrongly described as “non-refundable,” failed to account for his fees and didn’t return a client’s property in a timely manner following termination of his employment.
In one case, Block allegedly failed to pay court sanctions on time. In another, he allegedly created a conflict of interest by representing both a tenant and her landlord.
When LAist asked Block how he responded to the charges, he told us to reach out to his defense attorney Erin Joyce. In a statement, Joyce said, “While we cannot comment on the specifics of the case, we believe the matter will be resolved in Mr. Block’s favor prior to trial at the settlement conference.”
The ultimate penalty in California State Bar Court is disbarment, which would prevent Block from continuing to practice law. Lesser punishments could involve a brief suspension or an order to complete an ethics exam.
Should fees have been ‘non-refundable’?
This isn’t the first time Block has faced repercussions for alleged ethical lapses in recent years.
In 2023, LAist reported on a filing Block’s firm submitted in an eviction case that contained multiple references to fake case law. Legal experts told us the filing, which led to court sanctions, was likely produced through misuse of AI.
Legal ethics experts said the new charges against Block are serious.
“The worst thing a lawyer can do is steal a client's money,” said Scott Cummings, a law professor at UCLA. “This is effectively what the bar is saying Mr. Block has done here in roughly half a dozen cases.”
Many counts involve Block allegedly charging up-front fees described by his firm as “non-refundable.” Bar rules state such fees must constitute a “true retainer,” meaning money paid to reserve an attorney’s availability for a specific case or period of time.
LAist previously reported that former clients have complained about poor communication and a lack of availability from Block and his associates.
Richard Zitrin, an emeritus lecturer with UC Law San Francisco, said the rules may sound esoteric, but the bar takes violations seriously.
“When you get right down to what's going on under the surface, it looks like the accusations are that this guy could not do the work for these various clients,” Zitrin said. “If it's one time, it could just be an honest mistake. But if he's doing it repeatedly, serially, of course that's of more concern.”
Representing both sides?
In one case, Block’s firm is accused of taking on a tenant who was in a dispute with her roommate. A few months later, while still representing the tenant, Block’s firm allegedly took on the tenant’s landlord. Block’s firm then sent a letter threatening to evict his own client, according to the charges.
“Lawyers cannot represent opposite sides of a particular case because they owe their duty of loyalty and confidentiality to each client,” said Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School. “It's very likely that one side or the other will feel that the lawyer sold out to the other client.”
Despite the severity and the number of allegations, UCLA’s Cummings said Block’s disciplinary record — which shows no infractions so far — could help him avoid disbarment.
“Suspension seems like — if these facts were all proven to be true — definitely an appropriate sanction in this particular case,” Cummings said.
It’s not yet clear what the charges could mean for Block’s firm, which prides itself on handling a high volume of cases at any given time. Block once reportedly described himself as “a man who has evicted more tenants than any other human being on the planet Earth.”
A status conference in Block’s case is set for Feb. 9.
