How to Find a California Small Claims Lawyer

Looking for a California small claims lawyer? Whether you are suing over a security deposit or a car accident, we cover what you need to know about California small claims and lawyers in this article. 

Did you know that we help you prepare, file, and serve small claims lawsuits in California? Get Started.

In California, Only you can represent yourself at the small claims hearing. You can hire a lawyer to ask questions before or after your California small claims hearing. If you have doubts about your case, you may want to consult an attorney before filing your small claims lawsuit.

Why can’t I have a lawyer represent me? The California legislature determined that lawyers should not represent parties at the small claims hearing to even the playing field between the person suing in small claims and the person being sued. If neither party can hire a lawyer to represent them, then they have to represent themselves. This way if you sue a large corporation, they can't hire a lawyer to represent them at the hearing.

What about businesses? Who can represent a business? A business will need a non-lawyer representative.

Review our complete guide to suing in California small claims court. Looking to sue in another state? Review our 50-state guide to small claims court.

We need to start with this disclaimer so as not to get your hopes up.

Here is a list of reasons why it's hard to find a small claims lawyer in California:

• Many lawyers charge on a contingency. A contingency means that the lawyer only gets paid a percentage of what you win if you win. The California small claims limit is $12,500, so if you win, a lawyer may only get paid $3,750 (assuming they charge you 30%).

• The average hourly fee for a lawyer in California is $350. A lawyer would prefer to be hired for more than a couple of hours. That makes the economics of small claims difficult. If you are owed $2,000 for your security deposit, hiring a lawyer may cost you half of what you stand to win if you have to hire a lawyer for 3 hours. 

• Most lawyers aren’t “small claims lawyers.” Small claims court is a type of court (other types are criminal or federal court). Lawyers don't tend to specialize in "small claims court"; instead, they specialize in a type of subject like landlord/tenant law, personal injury, or lemon law. When looking for a lawyer, you wouldn't necessarily look for a "small claims lawyer" but instead for a "landlord-tenant" lawyer who handles small claims cases.

There are 3 main ways to find a California lawyer to help you with your small claims case:

1. At JusticeDirect, we have a fixed price add-on where you can have a lawyer review your lawsuit and evidence before suing in small claims court. Learn more about our services. We are a service that helps you prepare, file, and serve your small claims lawsuit.

2. Some California counties have what are called "Small Claims Advisors," which are free. In some counties, the small claims advisors are lawyers, while in others, they are not, but they will still be individuals with knowledge about the small claims process. In general, the small claims advisors aren't allowed to analyze the specific facts of your case and advise you (legal advice), but they are allowed to provide you with a lot of legal information, which can then help you figure out the answer to your question. Here is a guide to California small claims advisors and how to contact them. Remember that some counties have great small claims advisor programs while others do not.

3. In California, many lawyers belong to associations called “Bar Associations.” Many California counties have legal bar associations. Some bar associations provide consumers with a service of connecting them with an attorney who specializes in the area of law that they need help with (known as “legal referral service”) at a fixed price. In the table below, we outline how to contact the legal referral services hosted by county bar associations.

To use the table below:

1. Look for the county where you are located or where the dispute occurred.

2. If the county has a legal referral service sponsored by an attorney bar association, navigate to the bar association website. Otherwise, you may find an attorney on a website called Avvo, which provides a directory of attorneys. 

If you are a Bar Association and have updated information or a phone number you would like us to include in this table, please email us at [email protected].

Remember, lawyers don’t specialize in “small claims” but in a type of law. This means you first have to narrow down what kind of case you have and search for lawyers who know the type of law involving your small claims lawsuit.

Here are some examples:

• If your landlord didn’t return your security deposit, you are looking for a Landlord/Tenant attorney.

• If you got in a car accident and your car has been damaged, you may want to try speaking to a personal injury attorney even if you have not been injured, as personal injury attorneys commonly handle the property damage as part of the personal injury case. 

Here are the steps for handling a California small claims case without a lawyer:

1. Demand payment (most people complete this step by sending a demand letter).

2. Prepare and File the California small claims lawsuit. Review our complete guide to suing in California small claims.

3. Serve the California small claims lawsuit. This means you have to notify the person or business you have sued that they have been sued. Make sure to file the Proof of Service (proof that the lawsuit has been served). Learn more about serving a small claims lawsuit in California. 

4. Prepare your evidence. You want to ensure pictures, contracts, and text messages are ready for the small claims hearing. Make sure you have your evidence organized with page numbers, titles, and a table of contents to make it easy on the small claims judge. Make sure you practice what you are going to say to the judge and bring 3 copies of all your evidence. Review our guide to winning in small claims court.

Review our many guides to different areas of the law in our JusticeDirect Academy.

If you have been sued in California small claims, here is what to do:

1. Review our guide to being sued in California small claims court.

2. Review the lawsuit you received. This will help you learn (1) who has sued you, (2) why you have been sued, and (3) how much you are being sued for. 

3. Consider hiring a small claims lawyer. While a lawyer cannot represent you in California small claims, you can ask them questions before the hearing and after the hearing. 

4. You don't have to file any documents to respond to the lawsuit.  You are expected to show up at the hearing and represent yourself in court. 

5. What are your defenses? Make a list of reasons why the person who sued you should lose in small claims court.

6. Consider a settlement. Do you think the person who sued you is partially right? Consider settling with them before the hearing. Once you reach an agreement, then the small claims lawsuit can be closed. 

7. Consider suing the person who sued you. This is called a countersuit. Learn more in our guide to small claims countersuits.

8. Prepare your evidence. You want to ensure you have pictures, contracts, and text messages ready for the small claims hearing. Make sure your evidence is organized with page numbers, titles, and a table of contents to make it easy on the small claims judge. 

9. Prepare for your hearing. Practice what you will say to the judge and bring three copies of all your evidence. 

Did you know that we help you prepare, file, and serve small claims lawsuits in California? Get Started.