What percentage do personal injury lawyers take in California?

No percentage is set by law for an ordinary California personal injury case. Business and Professions Code section 6147 requires the written contingency agreement to state that the fee is negotiable between attorney and client, and how costs affect it. One exception: section 6146 imposes a sliding-scale limit in claims against health care providers.

No percentage is set by law for an ordinary personal injury case; the fee is negotiable between you and the attorney. Business and Professions Code section 6147 requires that a contingency fee agreement be in writing and that it state, in the agreement itself, that the fee is not set by law and is negotiable between attorney and client. That disclosure exists precisely because there is no statutory rate to point to. The agreement must also state how disbursements and costs affect the fee, and whether the attorney's share is calculated before or after those costs come out, a distinction that meaningfully changes what you take home. There is one significant statutory exception: in claims against health care providers, Business and Professions Code section 6146 imposes a sliding-scale limit on the attorney's contingency fee. Outside that category, treat any quoted figure as an opening position and read the written agreement carefully.

Authority: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6147; see also § 6146