Lawsuit funding for attorneys and law firms

As with any business, running a law firm requires a steady flow of capital. Many attorneys struggle to maintain a successful legal practice simply because of fee delays. Those fees are the lifeblood of any thriving practice: without them, it becomes almost impossible to build cases, to find new clients, or even to meet basic expenses like payroll.

Different types of legal funding options are designed to fit the needs of everyone from solo practitioners to larger firms, allowing all types of contingency fee attorneys to build their caseload and litigate properly while waiting on more mature litigation to be paid out. 

Law firm financing can be a great asset to contingency fee-based attorneys. It helps them gain access to cash flow to help pay expenses smoothing out their income stream, which can otherwise be extremely difficult to manage. While each attorney and firm's situation is different, we have created a bespoke solution for every different type of financing need. We can help you manage your portfolio of cases and provide capital based on that portfolio to help with payroll and marketing capital, or we can provide case by case specific financing to help cover discovery costs, expert witness costs, administrative costs, and maintain an office space without worrying about running out of capital.

Contingency fee attorneys are not guaranteed any economic benefit unless they win their case. If an attorney invests years of time, effort, and capital into a case that settles in favor of the defendant, he or she walks away with nothing.

Litigation is an uncertain process, as well as notoriously lengthy. The typical personal injury case, for example, will take about two years from the initial filing of the complaint to settlement. While that two-year period may seem like a long time to wait for a paycheck, MDLs, torts, and malpractice cases can take much longer. When litigating larger cases or cases involving minors, governments, or international entities, that timeline extends, settlement delays of ten or fifteen years are not uncommon, and there is uncertainty surrounding whether you will successfully win a judgment. 

While these cases are extremely profitable for the attorneys involved, they run the risk of running out of money before the litigation ends. This process makes running a successful practice difficult, and attorneys need some financial backstop to help cover costs until their next case settles. This is why attorney legal funding may be beneficial to you. 

We will typically purchase anywhere from 10-50% of your future fees to secure our investment into your practice. There is no limitation to how you use the capital you take from us, so rest assured that you will be able to enhance your practice in any way you see fit.

Law firms who are looking for lines of credit tend to approach their local or national financial institution. These banks may provide you with a business loan or a LOC (line of credit). The problem with these products is twofold. They do not take into account the intricacies of running a legal practice and, most times, do not provide enough capital as is needed. The other issue is that you will need to personally guarantee the loan unless your firm has had a long-standing relationship with the bank. That means you are risking the money you’ve made to secure the funds you need to make in the future. With Baker Street Funding, those worries are taken care of. The process is based on your current and former case portfolio. We also take into account intangible things, such as your previously settled cases. Our funding agreements are non-recourse, and thus you never have to personally guarantee our contracts.

If your client wants to apply for funding, they will need to fill out the application form or answer a few questions from one of our team members to determine initial eligibility. Baker Street Funding will then ask you for some documentation surrounding your client's claim. Generally, we will require documentation establishing liability, injuries, and insurance information for the defendant. Once we receive those documents, we will review the claim and, most times, make a funding decision immediately after. If we have additional questions or need clarity regarding certain documentation, we will email you our questions. Once those questions are answered we will then be able to make our funding decision. Once a funding decision is made, we will provide you and your client with a copy of our contract. After reviewing the agreement with your client and answering any questions you may have regarding the agreement, we will ask the client to execute the paperwork and have you provide us with acknowledgment of our lien. After receiving both client signature and attorney acknowledgment we will release funds to the client in the manner they request (bank wire or check).

After discussing your client's needs and financial situation, we will analyze the claim. We base our funding decisions on our perceived net present value of the claim and will structure our funding amounts based on that value and the client's needs.

Baker Street Funding will advance a minimum of $1,500 in funding to plaintiffs involved in non-settled claims. On settled claims, we require that the gross amount due to the plaintiff be no less than $50,000.

At Baker Street Funding we strive to provide you with the best rates and fees available. Our contracts are priced on a case-by-case basis but generally will be around 3% a month non-compounding for plaintiff loans. We provide reduced rates for clients that are referred to us by their attorney or medical provider.