Fees
You Pay Nothing Unless We Win. Here Is Exactly How that Works
If you just lost your job, “no fee unless we win” can sound like there is a catch. There is not, but you deserve to see how it works before you trust it. So here it is: what a contingency fee is, how the percentage gets set, who pays the costs, and what happens if the case loses.
†Past results do not guarantee outcomes. See our Privacy & Terms page for more.
What Does a Contingency Fee Mean?
It means our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you, paid at the very end, out of the result. No retainer. No hourly bills arriving every month. No invoice at all if the case does not win.
You are not writing us a check to get started, and you are not risking your savings to hold us accountable. We only get paid when you get paid.
How Much Is the Fee?
Across California employment firms, contingency rates cluster around a third of the recovery before a lawsuit is filed, and climb once litigation starts, because the work and the risk both go up.
We do not post our own rate on this page. It moves with what your case actually involves, and it is something you and your attorney settle in writing, not a number pinned to a web page in the hope it fits everyone who reads it.
Here is the arithmetic, using that one-third market figure rather than any rate of ours. On a $100,000 recovery, a one-third fee comes to $33,333, which leaves $66,667 before case costs are repaid. Your numbers will look different. You will see them before you sign anything.
The exact percentage for your case is written into a fee agreement you sign before any fee exists. California law requires that agreement to be in writing and to spell out the rate and how it is applied, under Business and Professions Code section 6147. You will read it, and it will match what we told you.
No Fees Unless We Win
Always on the Employees’ Side
Free Confidential Consultation
Always AvailableWho Pays the Case Costs?
Costs are different from fees. They are the out-of-pocket expenses of building your case: court filing fees, deposition transcripts, expert witnesses, records.
The firm advances these costs. They are repaid from the recovery at the end. Your fee agreement states exactly what happens to costs whether the case wins or loses.
What If We Lose?
No attorney fee. Full stop. There is no surprise bill waiting at the end of a case that did not work out.
That is the risk we take on when we agree to represent you, and it is why we look at cases honestly before we take them.
Can the Employer End up Paying My Attorney Fees?
Often yes, and it is one of the most important features of employment law. Many of these statutes shift attorney fees onto the employer when the employee wins. Under FEHA a prevailing employee can recover attorney fees under Government Code section 12965. In wage cases, fee recovery runs through Labor Code sections 1194 and 218.5.
This does two things. It means the value of your case can exceed what lands in your pocket, and it puts real pressure on employers to settle rather than run up a fee award they will have to pay.
Why Do Contingency Fees Favor Employees?
Because they line up our interests with yours. We do not earn a dime unless you recover, so we have every reason to fight for the largest recovery and none to run up hours.
It also means access. You do not need money in the bank to hire a serious lawyer. And it keeps us honest at the front door, because we screen cases carefully and only take on matters we believe in.
The One Thing We Do Not Charge For
Severance Agreement Review. If you were laid off cleanly and there is no claim to pursue, you may still have a contract in front of you with a signing deadline and terms you do not fully understand.
That is real work with no recovery to take a percentage of, and we do it at no charge, fast.
Questions About Paying for an Employment Lawyer
Is the Consultation Really Free?
Yes. The case review costs nothing, whether or not we end up working together.
Do I Owe Anything Today?
No. There is no retainer and nothing due to start.
Is the Fee Negotiable?
The percentage can depend on the type and complexity of the case. Whatever we agree to is in the written fee agreement before you sign.
What Percentage Do Employment Lawyers Take in California?
Contingency fees in employment cases commonly range from about one third to 40 percent, depending on how far the case goes. Ours are set out in your written agreement, as required by Business and Professions Code section 6147.
Are Settlement Amounts Taxed?
Sometimes. Tax treatment of employment settlements varies, lost wages are generally taxable, and some categories are treated differently. We are not tax advisors, so we will point you to the IRS guidance and recommend you talk to a tax professional about your specific settlement.
Employment Law Resources
- Business and Professions Code 6147, contingency fee agreements: leginfo
- Government Code 12965, FEHA attorney fee awards: leginfo
- State Bar of California, understanding lawyer fee agreements: calbar.ca.gov
- IRS Publication 4345, tax treatment of lawsuit settlements: irs.gov
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