The RegistryPractice Area · Statewide
Find Construction Attorney Across California
Counsel for the build — defects, liens, delays, and contractor disputes. This is the statewide record for construction in California — every attorney on the State Bar of California's official roll whose published practice reaches this area, shown in neutral directory order.
Californians search this field under many names — construction attorney, construction lawyer, construction defect lawyer, construction defect attorney, mechanics lien attorney — and the registry answers all of them from the same source. Below: the governing deadline with its citation, what to weigh as you read the roster, the questions Californians ask with the code sections that answer them, and the record county by county, from Del Norte to San Diego.
The clock & the craft
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).
Reading the roster
Construction disputes reward attorneys fluent in the deadline lattice — preliminary notices, lien and foreclosure windows, Right to Repair pre-litigation steps — so ask early counsel to calendar every date. Owners should ask about defect-claim strategy and expert costs; contractors and subs about lien and stop-notice practice and CSLB exposure. Many construction contracts compel arbitration, and prevailing-party fee clauses are common enough to change settlement math on both sides.
Construction · statewide roster
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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
Construction in all 58 counties
Construction by city
Adjacent shelves of the law
Read the record. Then decide.
Describe your matter once, weigh the published scores, and place the call — the choice is always yours.
Find Your Counsel195,000+ attorneys · 58 counties · Official State Bar records