A plaintiffs’ law firm can be a tough business to operate. Not only are you in competition with the local plaintiffs’ trial attorneys in your area for cases, you are also fighting off huge law firms with big reputations for some of those same cases. For the attorneys who do take on certain cases, it can be years before they see compensation because of how long they can be in the courts. Among the issues of difficult clients, judges, and cases, plaintiffs’ attorneys also have to deal with arguably their biggest issue which is finance and access to funding. In the United States of America, most businesses including plaintiff trial attorneys turn to the banks for financing. They are the cheapest in terms of interest rate, they are everywhere in society, and the process for applying can be relatively simple. At least that’s how bank financing is advertised, in reality most plaintiffs’ attorneys have a difficult time getting funding from banks.
Most trial attorneys on the plaintiffs’ side of the law have to deal with income that can alternate due to a number of factors. Some will invest a lot money into a case like class actions and MDLs without receiving any compensation because those cases can take years before they are finished. Other plaintiffs’ attorneys may have litigated cases where settlements were quick for huge dollars causing them to show a large amount of income. Due these and other factors, banks can be reticent to lend money to plaintiffs’ attorneys. Big banks like J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and others have the capital to lend to banks, but because of their size they may not be able to tailor the funding and application to plaintiffs’ attorney industry. That reality affects the entire industry. Smaller banks that would give them the specific attention a plaintiffs’ attorney but the amount they would be able to give is capped. In some cases plaintiffs’ attorneys litigate they would need hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions because the counter parties maybe a well-financed entity. So its important not only for the plaintiffs’ law practice to have funding, it is important to their client because it can determine how strong your case can be and they type of pressure you can apply.
There were banks like Greater Hudson Bank in New York (acquired by New Jersey’s Connect One Bank) and currently Mid-South Bank that advertised specifically to the plaintiffs’ law community. Most financial entities that market to the plaintiffs’ law community are usually trying to reach the actual plaintiffs in the case. That is how the legal funding, medical funding, and structured settlement funding industries formed. Banks like the former Greater Hudson and Mid-South are targeting the plaintiffs’ attorneys in the case because they understand the issues they face when they take on a case. Case Cost and Attorney Lines of Credit are the most common products available to them. There are also attorney funding businesses that also understand these problems the plaintiffs’ law practices face and they have also developed products where they have options. Generally, it is referred to as the litigation funding industry, but there are various nuances within the industry that plaintiffs’ attorneys should be aware of.
About RapidFunds
RapidFunds provides post-settlement funding to plaintiffs’ attorneys with fees in the settled cases. The company also provides case cost funding to plaintiffs’ attorneys for their current and future case expenses. Interested plaintiffs’ attorneys can fill out an application on our website or complete the application here. For more information about post-settlement funding, case cost finance, and the funding process call 888-927-9500 or email info@rapidfunds.com.