Engagements and fees

Fees are stated as ranges because firms differ in how many attorneys sign and how much they file. A written quotation follows the demonstration.

Demonstrations are available from October 23, 2026. A small number of California attorneys are already in discussions with WritLock about the first engagements.

Pre-effective-date review

$10,000 to $25,000

One engagement, completed before January 1, 2027

A review of the firm’s brief bank, templates and pending California filings for citations that do not resolve and quotations that do not appear in the source cited.

Findings delivered privately to the firm’s general counsel or risk partner
Corrections prepared so that counsel can file them first
Recycled language cleared before it enters a 2027 filing

Courts have consistently treated an error counsel corrected on their own more leniently than one found by the court or an opponent. The fee depends on the number of templates and pending matters.

Firm subscription

$150 to $250

Per signing attorney, per month, on an annual term

The full record for every California filing: contributor statements, personal verification by the responsible attorney, the seal, the court certificate, the firm register and the show-cause record.

Priced by signing attorney, because the statutory duty is personal
No charge for associates, paralegals, vendors or clients who only sign for their part
Review of briefs your attorneys receive, at no additional charge

For a firm with twenty-five attorneys who sign, the annual fee is $45,000 to $75,000. For each of those attorneys it is less than a few billable hours a year, set against a duty that attaches to every paper they file.

Incident response

$15,000 to $35,000

Fixed fee, together with a twelve-month subscription

For a firm with a pending order to show cause or a sanctions motion concerning citations. Work begins the day of engagement.

Review of the paper at issue and of every pending California filing by the same attorneys
Corrected filings verified before they are submitted
A complete, declaration-ready account of what occurred and what has changed
A going-forward undertaking the court can verify

California courts have set sanctions within dollars of the $1,000 line at which a State Bar report is required, after weighing what counsel could show had changed. The fee reflects the days in which that showing must be assembled.

Where matters stand

Attorneys in discussion. A small number of California attorneys are already in talks with WritLock. First engagements are being scheduled in the order firms come forward.
Demonstrations. Available from October 23, 2026. Dates may be reserved now through the request form or at demos@writlockinc.com.
Review by California counsel: pending. The statutory and case references on this site, and the form of the court certificate, are being placed before California counsel. Attorneys who wish to be considered as reviewing counsel may write to counsel@writlockinc.com.
Written quotations. Requested at engagements@writlockinc.com. Firms with a pending order to show cause should write to incident@writlockinc.com and are answered the same business day.

What the fee is measured against

The State Bar record. A sanction of $1,000 or more is reported (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 6068, subd. (o)(3), 6086.7)Permanent

Insurance. Professional liability policies commonly exclude court-imposed sanctions and finesPaid by the firm

The client. As practitioners read the amendment, monetary sanctions for a citation violation fall on counsel and the firm, not the represented partyNot recoverable

The matter. Appeals have been dismissed, briefs struck and counsel disqualified where authority was fabricatedThe client’s case

Fee recovery. Noland denied fees to the side that failed to detect its opponent’s fabricated citationsForfeited

Questions firms ask before engaging

Is WritLock a cite-checker?

No. Cite-checkers look for errors. WritLock records that the responsible attorney personally verified each citation, and binds that record to the document filed. Most firms use both.

Does WritLock use AI on our drafts?

No generative AI is applied to unfiled drafts. Citations are extracted and quotations matched by deterministic software, and the verification is performed by your attorney.

Who certifies the filing?

The attorney. WritLock records and timestamps the attorney’s representation. It does not certify that any authority supports any proposition.

What if the Judicial Council prescribes a disclosure form?

The certificate adopts any wording or form the Judicial Council or a local rule requires. The underlying record does not change.

Has the certificate been reviewed by California counsel?

That review is pending, and this page will say so until it is complete. The certificate is in every case the signing attorney’s own representation, and its wording will follow any form the Judicial Council prescribes.

How quickly can a firm be ready?

A firm that begins in the fourth quarter of 2026 can have its attorneys enrolled and its brief bank reviewed before the statute takes effect.

See it on a brief your firm has already filed.

Forty-five minutes. You verify five citations yourself, seal the document and export the record a court would ask for. Demonstrations are available from October 23, 2026.

Request a demonstration