Finite element approximation for degenerate parabolic equations is considered. We propose a semidiscrete scheme provided with order-preserving and L1 contraction properties, making use of piecewise linear trial functions and the lumping mass technique. Those properties allow us to apply nonlinear semigroup theory, and the wellposedness and stability in L1 and L∞, respectively, of the scheme are established. Under certain hypotheses on the data, we also derive L1 convergence without any convergence rate. The validity of theoretical results is confirmed by numerical examples.