Nichole Santiago is a Partner of the San Francisco office of Manning Kass. She is a member of the Governmental Entity Liability team. 

Before joining the firm, Ms. Santiago prosecuted unlawful detainers on behalf of non-profit property management companies and Housing Authorities in the San Francisco Bay Area, with extensive knowledge and experience in handling housing programs subsidized by Federal, State, and local government. Ms. Santiago worked as an in-house staff attorney for the Housing Authority for the City and County of San Francisco concentrating on unlawful detainers, negotiating equitable settlement agreements, defending against complaints made pursuant to the Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disability Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and drafting and implementing agency lease enforcement policies. Also, Ms. Santiago served as an Administrative Hearing Officer rendering written decisions related to complaints brought against the Housing Authority by program participants and applicants. 

Ms. Santiago’s legal career began at the San Francisco District Attorney’s office as a California Bar Certified law clerk where for two years she supported assistant district attorneys prosecuting homicide and other serious felony cases. Ms. Santiago went on to clerk for a San Francisco Superior Court judge in Juvenile Delinquency Court. Ms. Santiago earned Bachelor’s degrees in History and Criminology, and certifications in Paralegal Studies, Mediation, and Tribal Law from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ms. Santiago graduated at the top of her law school class, earned the Witkin Award in Civil Procedure, and moot court accolades all while attending class at night and working full time during the day as a paralegal.  Ms. Santiago has been a member of the Board of Directors for her law school’s Alumni Association since 2019, formerly serving as the Board’s past Treasurer and President, and regularly volunteers as a judge for the American Bar Association's National Moot Court Competition and the Empire Mock Trial program for high school students.