California Contingency Fees: Compare the Written Terms
A contingency percentage is only one part of the price of representation. Compare the fee calculation, case expenses, other deductions and work covered by the agreement. California Business and Professions Code section 6147 requires covered contingency agreements to be written, signed and supplied to the client, with specified disclosures. Use the worksheet to locate the relevant provisions and ask for a written explanation of anything unclear. This guide does not set a fee or evaluate an existing contract’s enforceability.
Hurt Advice editorial guide. Source review: . This guide does not state that the attorney authored, reviewed or approved it. Visit the profile for public licensing and background records.
Review the attorney’s public background, then confirm experience and availability directly.
Raffi Naljian
Founder, Civil Litigation, Personal Injury & Criminal Defense Attorney
Raffi Garabed Naljian is the founder of Naljian Law Offices and an active California attorney under State Bar #238919. A Los Angeles Times profile says he founded the firm in 2008 after beginning his legal career in 1997, and the State Bar lists personal injury, litigation, criminal law, and business law among his self-reported practice areas.
View Raffi Naljian's full verified profilePrimary identity record
Learn more about Raffi Naljian
This is a focused supporting page. Use Raffi Naljian's full sourced attorney profile as the primary identity record for biography, role, languages, office information, and public-record links. Review that profile alongside the issue-specific preparation and public sources below.
The State Bar record lists Raffi Garabed Naljian as an active California attorney, State Bar #238919. Hurt Advice is a separate referral and legal information service, not the attorney's law firm.
How to Evaluate Attorney Fit for This Issue
Compare proposals using the same assumptions. A lower percentage can still produce a different net result when expense treatment or scope differs. Ask the lawyer to walk through a hypothetical distribution with every deduction identified. Treat the exercise as contract arithmetic, not a forecast of your claim’s value or a recommended rate.
Fictional comparison: the same percentage, a different remainder
Assume only for this example a $60,000 gross recovery, a 30% attorney fee and $6,000 in case expenses. These are arithmetic inputs, not a suggested rate, typical settlement or prediction. Assume no medical balances, liens, taxes or other deductions for now.
If the agreement calculates the 30% fee before deducting case expenses, the fee is $18,000 and the example remainder is $36,000 ($60,000 minus $18,000 minus $6,000). If the agreement first deducts the $6,000 expense and then calculates 30% of $54,000, the fee is $16,200 and the example remainder is $37,800.
The $1,800 difference comes only from the calculation order. Actual agreements may treat expenses, stages, related work and other obligations differently. Ask counsel to apply the exact written terms to the same fictional inputs and explain any remaining deductions before signing.
Consultation worksheet
Contingency agreement and net-proceeds worksheet
Record the section number and the lawyer’s explanation for each item. You can use fictional figures for a comparison; do not enter private case details here.
There is no submit or save action. Copy your notes before leaving this page.
What percentage applies, when is the fee earned and can the percentage change? Identify the contract provision.
Is the fee based on gross recovery or an amount after expenses? Ask counsel to write the calculation in the order the agreement uses.
Which costs may be advanced, who approves them and what is owed if there is no recovery or the engagement ends?
Which medical balances, liens or other obligations remain separate from fees and case costs? Who will confirm the amounts?
What work is excluded? For the hypothetical example, record gross recovery minus the calculated fee, expenses and other deductions, then identify each unresolved assumption.
Sources for this guide
- California Business and Professions Code section 6147
Contingency agreement requirements, including written terms, the agreed rate, cost treatment, related work and the applicable negotiability statement.
- State Bar of California: Fees and billing
Explains fee arrangements and the separate expense questions a client should resolve before signing an agreement with a lawyer.
- California Rules of Professional Conduct: Lawyer-client relationship
Rules 1.2, 1.4 and 1.5 address client decisions, communication and fees; these are professional duties, not proof of any particular lawyer’s performance.
Check the Cost Decision
- 1Obtain the entire proposed agreement, including attachments and any provisions about expenses, liens or related work.
- 2Locate the percentage, the event that earns the fee and any change in the rate by stage; ask which calculation base is used.
- 3Separate lawyer fees from expenses, medical obligations and other deductions, and ask how each affects the amount remaining.
- 4Resolve uncertainties in writing before signing, then keep a complete copy of the signed terms.
Records for the Cost Review
- Complete engagement and contingency agreement with all attachments and amendments
- Expense estimate and any cost-approval or repayment provisions
- A proposed distribution worksheet showing the gross amount, fee, expenses, other deductions and remainder
- Written answers identifying excluded work, related matters and possible charges if the engagement ends
Keep your unanswered questions handy when comparing the attorney’s public profile with your needs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Reading “no attorney fee” as a promise that no case expenses can be owed
- Comparing fee rates without checking whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee calculation
- Assuming an advertised percentage is required by law or applies to every kind of claim
- Treating a hypothetical distribution as the amount a claim will produce
How the Process Typically Works
Read the proposal
Highlight the services and financial terms you understand. List every unresolved clause rather than relying on a verbal description of the percentage.
Compare a worked example
Ask each candidate to apply their own written terms to the same hypothetical gross recovery and expenses. Include any other deductions separately.
Check the final documents
Confirm agreed clarifications appear in the version you sign. During the matter, retain amendments and expense information for comparison with the eventual distribution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are California contingency fees always a fixed percentage?
No single rate covers every case. Section 6147 generally requires a statement that the fee is negotiable, while identifying different language for claims subject to section 6146. Special rules and exclusions can apply; ask which rules govern the proposed agreement.
Are case expenses the same as attorney fees?
No. Expenses can include filing, records, experts or other work paid for during a case. The State Bar advises clients to review expense responsibility separately from the lawyer’s fee, including what may be payable if the case is unsuccessful.
Why does the order of deductions matter?
Calculating a percentage before deducting expenses can produce a different fee and remainder from calculating it afterward. Ask for a worked example using the actual agreement and the same hypothetical inputs when comparing proposals.
How does a missing clause affect payment obligations?
A checklist cannot resolve that question. Section 6147 addresses noncompliance and a possible reasonable fee, and the governing facts need individual review. Obtain independent advice about a dispute rather than treating this worksheet as a contract ruling.
Use the attorney’s public background as a starting point for a direct conversation about fit.
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Attorney Advertising. Hurt Advice is a lawyer-referral and legal-information service, not a law firm. This website provides general information, not legal advice. Viewing a page or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Independent participating attorneys decide whether to accept a matter, and representation begins only under a separate written agreement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; results depend on the facts and circumstances of each matter.