The RegistryCounty Record · California

Construction Lawyers in Sacramento County, California

Searching for a construction attorney in Sacramento County? Counsel for the build: defects, liens, delays, and contractor disputes. This page indexes the county's construction coverage from the State Bar of California's official roll, with identity-verification markers where available.

Venue matters. Construction cases from Sacramento County are ordinarily heard at the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento. The capital county: government, regulatory, and writ practice run deep, and the Third District Court of Appeal sits downtown alongside the Schaber Courthouse.

Deadlines shape these cases before merits do · mechanics liens: record within 90 days of completion (60/30 days after a notice of completion) (Cal. Civ. Code § 8412). Suit to foreclose the lien must follow within 90 days of recording (Cal. Civ. Code § 8460). Defect claims run four years for patent defects (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337.1) and ten for latent (§ 337.15).

This page is the Sacramento County chapter of the registry's statewide record · Construction Attorneys in California collects all 58 counties.

The clock & the court

Statute of limitations

Mechanics liens: record within 90 days of completion (60/30 days after a notice of completion).

Cal. Civ. Code § 8412

Suit to foreclose the lien must follow within 90 days of recording (Cal. Civ. Code § 8460). Defect claims run four years for patent defects (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337.1) and ten for latent (§ 337.15).

Court of record

Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento.

County seat: Sacramento

Official court information, locations, and filing rules: www.saccourt.ca.gov

Construction · Sacramento County roster

230 attorneys on the official State Bar of California roll list construction among their practice areas with an address of record in Sacramento County.

223 of them hold an active licence; the remainder are recorded as inactive and are not currently eligible to practise.

The roster concentrates in Sacramento (186), Fair Oaks (9), Folsom (9) and Gold River (7).

8 are recorded as taking client work in a language other than English.

Admission years on this roster run from 1964 to 2026.

The employers most represented here are Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP (8), Downey Brand LLP (5) and Jacobsen McElroy Booth & Dolin PC (5).

Gregory L. Martin

Bankruptcy · Sacramento

Bar #243746 · Admitted 2006

Identity verified

Erin K. McDonough

Construction · Sacramento

Bar #241664 · Admitted 2006

Official record

Diane E McElhern

Business Law · Sacramento

Bar #167460 · Admitted 1993

Official record

Scott D. McElhern

Construction · Sacramento

Bar #173587 · Admitted 1994

Official record

Julie D. McElroy

Construction · Sacramento

Bar #160542 · Admitted 1992

Official record

Andrew P. McGowan

Business Law · Sacramento

Bar #367663 · Admitted 2026

Official record

The full Sacramento County roster · 223 attorneys with an active license and a construction practice area: is listed by surname in the 1 sections below.

Construction matters in Sacramento County

The matters this field covers, as Californians search for them. Each attorney's own profile states which of these they take.

  • construction defects
  • mechanics liens and stop notices
  • contractor payment disputes
  • unlicensed contractor claims
  • delay and change order disputes
  • home improvement contract disputes
  • construction site injuries
  • CSLB licensing complaints
  • subcontractor disputes
  • bond claims

Have a construction matter? Submit your case for review.

Open a free case file, choose how attorneys may contact you, and review any terms they send. You decide whom to contact and whether to proceed.

In the last 30 days attorneys have read 1 filed matter on the registry.

Submit your case for review

Legal information, not legal advice · The AI reception identifies itself

Construction questions, cited

How do mechanics lien deadlines work in California?

Most subcontractors and suppliers must serve a 20-day preliminary notice to preserve lien rights (Cal. Civ. Code § 8204). Liens must then be recorded within 90 days of project completion, shortened to 60 days for direct contractors and 30 for others when a notice of completion is recorded (Civ. Code §§ 8412, 8414). A foreclosure suit must follow within 90 days of recording (§ 8460), or the lien expires.

How long do I have to sue for construction defects in California?

Four years for patent (obvious) defects (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337.1) and ten years for latent defects (§ 337.15), both running from substantial completion. New residential construction sold after 2003 runs through the Right to Repair Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 895 et seq.), which sets building standards and requires a pre-litigation notice-and-repair process (§ 910) before most defect suits.

Can an unlicensed contractor sue me for payment in California?

No: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7031(a) bars anyone required to be licensed from suing to collect compensation for unlicensed work, regardless of the work's quality. More strikingly, § 7031(b) lets the customer sue to disgorge all compensation already paid to an unlicensed contractor. Licensing status is verifiable through the Contractors State License Board.

What should be in a California home improvement contract?

Home improvement contracts over $500 must be in writing and include statutory content: a described scope, total price, approximate start and completion dates, and required notices (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7159). Down payments are capped at $1,000 or 10% of the price, whichever is less (§ 7159.5). Violations are disciplinary offenses and can be misdemeanors, and they shape later disputes.

What is a stop payment notice?

A remedy that intercepts construction funds rather than the property: a subcontractor or supplier serves the owner (or construction lender) with a stop payment notice, obligating them to withhold the claimed amount from the contractor (Cal. Civ. Code § 8502 et seq.). On public works (where mechanics liens are unavailable) stop payment notices and payment bond claims (Civ. Code § 9100 et seq.) are the principal collection tools.

Legal information, not legal advice.

From the answer files

Every construction attorney in Sacramento County, by surname

Construction by city in Sacramento County

Related counsel in Sacramento County

Construction in nearby counties

Source: Cal. Civ. Code § 8412 · State Bar of California licensee records · Checked: · Maintained by the California Attorney Registry from official State Bar of California records. Legal information, not legal advice.

Read the record. Then decide.

Describe your matter once, review the verified records, and place the call; the choice is always yours.

Find Your Counsel

278,688 attorneys · 58 counties · Official State Bar records