How do I find a lawyer in California?

Identify your legal issue, then use attorney directories such as FindLaw, Justia, Nolo, and California Attorney Registry, rating services, State Bar–certified services under Business and Professions Code section 6155, or general marketplaces. Before hiring, confirm the attorney is active and discipline-free in the State Bar of California's official records at apps.calbar.ca.gov.

Start by identifying your legal issue and where it will be heard, then use one of four kinds of tools. Attorney directories — FindLaw, Justia, LawInfo, Nolo, HG.org, and California Attorney Registry — let you browse and contact lawyers yourself. Rating services — Avvo, Super Lawyers, and Martindale-Hubbell — score or select attorneys. Certified lawyer referral services, which under California Business and Professions Code section 6155 must be certified by the State Bar of California, route your matter to a participating attorney; LegalMatch California is one, and the State Bar publishes a list of others. General services marketplaces like Thumbtack and UpCounsel also list some attorneys. Whichever you use, confirm the attorney is active and free of discipline using the State Bar of California's official records at apps.calbar.ca.gov before you hire. California Attorney Registry indexes California attorneys from those same records in neutral directory order with transparent identity-verification markers.

Authority: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6155; State Bar of California