Guides
How plaintiff work gets done, rule by rule, with sources.
Deadlines, procedure and the paperwork behind personal injury, workers' comp and employment cases in California, plus honest buyer's guides to the software.
Personal injury
- GuideCalifornia time-limited demands: the CCP 999 requirements checklistWhat CCP 999 to 999.5 require of a pre-suit time-limited demand in California: scope, the 30- and 33-day windows, delivery, content and consequences.
- GuideHow to write a policy-limits demand letter in CaliforniaHow to write a California policy-limits demand letter: confirming limits, the parts of the letter, damages under Howell, liens, delivery and the deadline.
- GuideHow to build a medical chronology for a personal injury caseA step-by-step method for building a cited medical chronology in a personal injury case: the columns, treatment gaps, prior injuries and tying it to specials.
- GuideCalifornia medical records request laws: Evidence Code 1158 and H&S 123110How California medical records requests work for injury cases: Evidence Code 1158, Health and Safety Code 123110 and HIPAA, with deadlines and copy fees.
- GuideMedical lien reductions in California: hospital, Medi-Cal, Medicare and ERISAHow medical liens are capped and reduced in California injury settlements: hospital liens, Medi-Cal, Medicare, health plans, ERISA plans and provider liens.
- GuideCalifornia personal injury statute of limitations: deadlines by claim typeCalifornia personal injury filing deadlines by claim type: CCP 335.1, medical negligence, government claims, UM claims, minors and tolling rules.
- GuideCalifornia Government Claims Act: the six-month claim deadlineHow the California Government Claims Act works for injury cases: the six-month claim, what it must say, the 45-day response, late claims and when to sue.
- GuidePersonal injury case workflow: intake to settlement, step by stepA California personal injury case workflow from intake to disbursement: what each phase involves, the deadlines to watch, and what a case manager checks.
- RoundupBest AI for personal injury lawyers in 2026: compared by firm needEvenUp, Eve, Supio, Filevine, SmartAdvocate, CaseMark and more for PI firms, sorted by what your firm needs, with public prices and their limits.
- Buyer's guideHow much does AI demand letter software cost? 2026 prices and modelsWhat AI demand letter tools cost in 2026: per demand, per case, per seat and add-on pricing, with every public price and labeled third-party estimates.
- Buyer's guideMedical chronology software for personal injury firms: 2026 buyer's guideHow to choose medical chronology software for a PI firm: what a good chronology holds, how vendors price it, the scanned-records question, and a test plan.
- Buyer's guidePersonal injury case management software: 2026 buyer's guide and comparisonFilevine, Litify, SmartAdvocate, Neos, CasePeer, CloudLex, Clio and PlaintiffStack compared for PI firms: AI, pricing, implementation and who each fits.
Workers' comp
- GuideThe California QME and AME process: a guide for applicant attorneysHow a represented case gets a panel QME or an AME in California: objection deadlines, panel requests, strikes, records service, report timing and fees.
- GuideCalifornia UR and IMR deadlines: a guide for applicant attorneysUtilization review timeframes, the 30-day IMR request deadline, the 2026 regulation changes, IMR decision timing and how to appeal an IMR determination.
- GuideCalifornia temporary disability in 2026: rates, timing, caps and late-payment penaltiesThe 2026 TD minimum and maximum, how TTD and TPD are computed, the 104-week cap, payment timing and the 10% and 25% penalties for late payment.
- GuideCumulative trauma claims in California: date of injury, liable employers and deadlinesHow California defines cumulative trauma, how the date of injury is set, which employers are liable, and the deadlines and defenses applicant firms face.
- GuideCompromise and Release vs Stipulations with Request for Award in California workers' compHow a C&R and a Stipulated award differ: forms, future medical, reopening, WCAB approval, Medicare set-asides and liens, with a settlement checklist.
- GuideCalifornia workers' comp liens: filing rules, fees and deadlines for applicant firmsWho can file a lien in California workers' comp, the $150 filing fee, the 18-month filing limit, required declarations, lien stays and how liens are resolved.
- GuideEAMS and JET File explained: how filing works at the California WCABWhat EAMS is, the three ways to file (JET File, e-forms and OCR paper forms), what JET File accepts, UAN errors, lien e-filing and how to pick a filing vendor.
- GuideCalifornia permanent disability ratings explained: WPI, the 2005 PDRS and apportionmentHow a California PD rating is built from WPI, the 1.4 multiplier, occupation and age, how ratings combine, how apportionment works and what PD pays in 2026.
- RoundupBest AI for workers' comp attorneys in 2026: an honest roundup for California applicant firmsAI and software for California applicant workers' comp firms, grouped by need: WC-native assistants, plaintiff platforms, case management and records tools.
- Buyer's guideWorkers' comp case management software: a buyer's guide for California applicant firmsWhat California applicant firms need from workers' comp case management software, the questions to ask, how vendors price, and how the main options compare.
Employment
- GuideFEHA right-to-sue deadlines in California: the CRD filing and one-year lawsuit clockHow the FEHA clock runs: three years to file with the CRD, one year to sue after the right-to-sue notice, and the tolling rules that move both dates.
- GuidePAGA after the 2024 reform: penalties, caps, cure and notice rules for plaintiff counselWhat AB 2288 and SB 92 changed in PAGA: the 65/35 split, $100 and $200 penalties, 15% and 30% caps, cure, the LWDA notice and standing.
- GuideEEOC charge filing deadlines by state: 180 vs 300 days, with every state agencyWhich states give 300 days to file an EEOC charge and which give 180, with each state's fair employment agency, plus the age, Equal Pay and federal rules.
- GuideProving retaliation in California with a timeline: causation, proximity and LawsonHow a dated chronology proves California retaliation: the Yanowitz elements, Lawson's contributing-factor test, temporal proximity and its limits.
- GuideCalifornia wage and hour damages: overtime, premiums, penalties and how far back they reachEach California wage-and-hour remedy with its rate and limitations period: overtime, meal and rest premiums, waiting time, wage statements and interest.
- GuideEmployment law intake screening: questions, deadlines and red flags for plaintiff firmsA screening checklist for plaintiff employment intake: deadline questions first, employer coverage, merits, arbitration and releases, and day-one requests.
- RoundupBest AI tools for plaintiff employment lawyers in 2026, by needAI for plaintiff employment firms, sorted by job: charge and demand drafting, case management, research and discovery, with pricing and limits for each.
- Buyer's guideEmployment law case management software: a buyer's guide for plaintiff firmsWhat plaintiff employment firms need from case management: exhaustion and tolling dates, chronologies, damages, discovery, pricing models and demo questions.
Every practice
- GuideHow to switch case management software: a migration plan for plaintiff firmsA step-by-step plan for moving a plaintiff firm to new case management software: contracts, data export, mapping, deadline checks, cutover and verification.
- GuideLegal AI security checklist for plaintiff firms: BAAs, SOC 2 and your dataWhat to ask a legal AI vendor before you upload medical records: BAAs and HIPAA, SOC 2 vs ISO 27001, where data lives, model training, logs and exit.
- GuideABA Formal Opinion 512 for plaintiff firms: AI ethics on contingencyWhat ABA Formal Opinion 512 says about AI competence, confidentiality, communication, supervision and fees, read for contingency-fee plaintiff firms.
- GuidePer-case vs per-seat pricing for legal software: which costs your firm less?The break-even math between per-case and per-seat legal software pricing, worked for PI, workers' comp and employment firms, including when per-seat wins.