How much does a bad faith insurance attorney cost in California?
Most California bad faith insurance attorneys take cases on contingency — typically 33% of the recovery if the case settles before filing suit, and 40% after filing. There's usually no upfront legal fee, though costs (filing, experts, deposition transcripts) may be advanced. Evidence file preparation by a California Legal Document Assistant is separate and runs $95/hour, client-directed.
Contingency fee, Brandt fees, and costs
In a bad faith case, the attorney's contingency fee comes out of the total recovery. Under Brandt v. Superior Court (1985), California also allows the plaintiff to recover the attorney's fees incurred to obtain the policy benefits as consequential damages — meaning part of the fee can effectively shift back to the insurer in a bad faith verdict or settlement.
Why a separate LDA?
Contingency attorneys are selective — they take cases where the evidence is already strong. Bringing them a clean, organized evidence file at intake dramatically increases the odds of them taking the case, and can compress the pre-litigation timeline by months. That's the role we play as a California LDA.
Need the evidence organized?
We build the bad faith evidence file for California policyholders: correspondence log, line-item estimate comparison, §790.03 citation map, and an exhibit-ready binder. $95/hour, client-directed.
Open an evidence fileRelated questions
Educational information only. Legal Document Assistants provide evidence services under California Business & Professions Code §6400 et seq.; we do not provide legal advice.