California LLC formation, with a California attorney.
Flat-fee packages, plain-English guidance, and an operating agreement that fits your situation. For solopreneurs, multi-member founders, and business owners who would rather start correctly than start cheaply.
California-licensed attorney. San Diego–based. Serving California businesses statewide.
Attorney-assisted vs. cheap filing
You can file your LLC yourself in an afternoon. Whether you should is a different question.
Cheap filing services exist for a reason. If you are a single-member LLC with a clear operating model, no business partners, and no plans to bring on owners, a low-cost filing service can produce paperwork that holds up. Plenty of California businesses have started that way and done fine.
What those services do not do is read your situation. They do not ask whether your spouse should be on the LLC. They do not draft an operating agreement that anticipates a future buyout. They do not tell you when an S-corp election would save you money or when it would cost you (your CPA does that — but they need a properly formed LLC to start with). They do not pick up the phone two years later when something looks off.
If that gap matters to you, that is where attorney-assisted formation earns its fee.
Who this is for
Most clients fit one of these patterns. If yours is here, attorney-assisted formation is usually a fit.
- Solopreneurs, consultants, and service professionals
- Real estate investors holding California property
- Multi-member LLC founders and partnerships
- Content creators and online business owners
- Side-hustlers turning a project into a real business
- Professionals leaving employment to start a firm
- Existing LLC owners with weak or missing operating agreements
- Multi-member LLC owners who need a buy/sell plan
Formation packages
Flat-fee packages with what is included — and what is not — published openly. No hourly surprises on formation work.
Foundation
For single-member LLCs with a straightforward setup.
$995 flat fee
- California Articles of Organization
- EIN application support
- Initial Statement of Information filing
- Single-member operating agreement (template-based)
- Initial compliance and timeline checklist
Standard
For owners who want a fitted operating agreement and a real conversation.
$1,495 flat fee
- Everything in Foundation
- Custom-fitted single-member operating agreement
- 30-minute formation strategy call
- Manager-managed vs. member-managed guidance
- Post-formation Q&A by email (30 days)
Multi-Member
For LLCs with two or more owners. The operating agreement is the work.
$1,995 flat fee
- Everything in Standard
- Multi-member operating agreement (custom)
- Capital contribution and distribution terms
- Buy-sell / departure provisions
- Member-vote and management provisions
- Joint formation call with all members (60 minutes)
Multi-member LLCs
Forming an LLC with a partner? The operating agreement is the work.
The operating agreement is where most preventable partner disputes get prevented — or invited. California's default rules apply when an operating agreement is silent, and those defaults often are not what you would actually want. For multi-member LLCs, that conversation matters more than the filing itself.
Where are you?
Three paths, depending on how ready you are to start. No pressure to be in the first column.
Ready to start
Start your California LLC
If you know you want to form an LLC and want a California attorney guiding the work, start here. We will set up an intake call and confirm scope before any engagement is signed.
Book a Formation Call →Comparing options
See pricing and how this compares to DIY filing
If you are weighing attorney-assisted formation against LegalZoom, ZenBusiness, or Bizee, the pricing page and the comparison page lay out exactly what is and is not included.
See Pricing →Not ready yet
Get the California LLC Checklist
A practical checklist of what California small business owners should think through before forming an LLC — what to decide, what to ignore, and where the common mistakes happen.
Download the Checklist →About
Taylor Darcy
I am Taylor Darcy, a California-licensed attorney based in San Diego. I am the sole attorney at Think Legal, P.C., and my practice is focused on California LLC formation and operating-agreement work for small business owners statewide. My goal with every formation is plain: do it correctly the first time, in plain English, without burying you in legalese.
More about Taylor →Common questions
- Do I really need a lawyer to form a California LLC?
- No. The Secretary of State's portal will accept your Articles of Organization without a lawyer involved. The real question is not whether you can file your own LLC — it is whether the things that come with attorney-assisted formation (an operating agreement that fits your situation, a conversation about ownership and control, post-formation guidance) are worth paying for. For multi-member LLCs and for owners planning to grow the business, the answer is usually yes.
- How is this different from LegalZoom or ZenBusiness?
- Filing services file paperwork. They do not read your situation, draft an operating agreement around your specific ownership structure, or tell you when something looks off. That is a clerical service, and it is fine for some people. If you would rather have a California-licensed attorney looking at your formation as a legal matter — and available afterward when questions come up — that is what this firm provides.
- What if I am forming the LLC with a business partner?
- The operating agreement is where most preventable partner disputes get prevented — or invited. California's default rules apply when an operating agreement is silent or weak, and the defaults often are not what you would actually want. For multi-member LLCs, the operating-agreement conversation matters more than the filing itself.
- How much does this cost?
- Formation work is offered as flat-fee packages with the scope and price published openly on the pricing page. Pricing varies by whether the LLC is single-member or multi-member and how much operating-agreement work is involved.
- Can you help if I am not in San Diego?
- Yes. The firm is California-licensed and serves clients statewide. Most of the work happens by video call, email, and signed documents. The San Diego location is the home base, not a geographic limit on California clients.
- How long does formation take?
- Filing the Articles of Organization with the California Secretary of State typically takes a few business days, depending on current processing times and whether expedited filing is used. Operating-agreement work happens in parallel, so end-to-end timelines depend mostly on how quickly the operating-agreement conversation moves.
Form your California LLC with attorney guidance — not a clerical service.
Flat-fee packages. Plain-English process. A real California attorney who picks up the phone.