Get The Facts
What Californians Need to Know About the People’s Right to Contract With Counsel of Choice Act
Why This Matters:
This measure is designed to directly combat Uber’s initiative, specifically the initiative’s provisions that limit contingency fees for injured victims and restrict victims’ ability to contract an attorney without corporate interference. This counters Uber’s attempts to stifle legitimate legal action to hold them accountable for their repeated gross negligence.
What it Does:
Protects victims’ right to hire an attorney of their choice by prohibiting corporations from filing initiatives to create new laws that interfere with a person’s right to contract with legal counsel.
Invalidates conflicting measures to ensure victims cannot be stripped of their ability to secure legal representation.
Preserves existing court oversight by making clear that courts retain full authority to regulate the practice of law and to prohibit illegal or excessive attorney fee arrangements.
Effect on Uber’s Initiative:
If this measure passes, it will immediately nullify the provisions of Uber’s initiative that restricts a victim’s right to contract with an attorney on a contingency fee.
Effect on Legal Representation:
Uber’s measure seeks to chill legitimate legal claims by interfering with a victim’s ability to contract an attorney due to restricted contingency fees, particularly when their damages are serious or the case is complex. If passed, this measure would ensure that large corporations like Uber cannot interfere with the current contingency fee structure in place in California. It would also protect safeguards against excessive or unlawful fees that are already in place. These provisions ensure victims are able to contract an attorney of their choice, particularly when going up against giant corporations like Uber.