A solution to the cash flow problems of contingent fee litigation.

Posted on May 19, 2012 by admin

“The path to a settlement can be a very difficult process, but achieving the resolution is just the beginning, sometimes it can take many months to receive funds from a lawsuit settlement.”

Post Settlement Funding provides attorneys and plaintiffs with the ability to accelerate cash flow and gain access to the funds you have fought so hard to receive. Your law firm can in many cases advance a substantial portion of your earned legal fee.

Many lawyers and plaintiffs are already stretched thin when the case is finally resolved from the burden of years of litigation.  Fee acceleration products may provide a solution that empowers both attorneys and plaintiffs with the resources to make it across the finish line.

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Ever-expanding interest in Third Party Litigation Funding

Posted on August 1, 2011 by admin

Showing the ever growing interest in Alternative Litigation Finance the Searle Civil Justice Institute has just announced it is hosting a Global Conference on Third-Party Financing of Litigation.  The conference is part of their public policy initiative entitled, Third-Party Financing of Litigation: Civil Justice Friend or Foe? The event will focus on the potential impact of third-party litigation financing on economic growth and free enterprise systems throughout the world.

The conference will be held in New York City on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 5 and the morning of October 6, 2011. There will be a cocktail reception on Wednesday evening.

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Are you funding your practice with After-Tax dollars?

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Bill Tilley

Most law firms that operate a contingent practice currently fund their hard case costs with the firms excess cash flow or personal funds. In most cases this is the most ineficient use of ones capital as the IRS generally treats these expenditures as loans and thus not deductable.  This results in you paying taxes on phantom income. Since these contingent advances are not deductable, as such the funds that you invest in cases ends flowing through as income. Trial attorneys in most cases will always be better off establishing a line of credit, whether they use a specialty finance company or their local bank, to fund these hard costs and if structured properly the interest can be passed on to the case. Now the money is free to invest in other areas like retirement accounts, advertising, firm expansion, etc.  For a more detailed discussion please visit www.amicuscapitalservices.com.

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Third Party Litigation Finance Conference In NY

Posted on May 26, 2011 by admin

Another great conference on third party litigation finance presented by the New York State Bar  and Fordham University School Of Law. Showing the tremendous interest in this growing space. The  Conference will be held June 15th in New York.

Click here for more information and the full agenda.

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Litigation Finance and Investment Summit

Posted on February 17, 2011 by admin

Just announced gathering of industry participants to discuss third party funding of commercial litigation, bringing together the major players who are developing a US Legal Finance CommunityNetwork with the litigators, financial intermediaries, brokers, hedge funds, private equity, general counsels and internal litigation specialists who are building a new legal economy. Conference will run April 27-29, 2011 in New York and will be held at Digital Sandbox, 55 Broad St., New York, NY 10004.

•Learn how outside finance of commercial litigation works
•Hear from active participants the needs and goals of all players in this process – including what kinds of deals they are willing to participate in
•Evaluate opportunities for investors in funding commercial litigation and financing law firms

Litigation finance is an emerging multi-billion dollar market in the U.S. This asset class is yielding highly attractive returns for pioneering investors—but the level of current investment is greatly outstripped by the needs of litigators, SMEs and corporations involved in lawsuits. By and large, lawyers usually do not know the full landscape of options for third party finance, and potential investors do not fully comprehend the types of opportunities and business models, this community is ripe for explosive growth. Read More on the schedule of speakers here.

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“Business of Law”

Posted on February 14, 2011 by admin

Most trial attorneys are solely focused on winning cases, but too often this focus on what most feel is their most important work leads them to ignore what truly is the most important key to success in the practice of law – Managing the Business of Law. Not paying attention and planning many contingency-fee attorneys end up endlessly tying up their profits in case expenses, bloated overhead and covering substantial salaries of money losing associates. Often losing great opportunities to expand and take on more exciting and profitable cases to better prepared firms. Without many other options, contingent fee attorneys often settle into a cycle of collecting a big fee, then plowing most or all of it right back into the next case and paying back debt.
There are different ways out of this cycle but an important first step is to develop a sound and disciplined business plan. At a minimum you should develop a plan that includes detailed income and cost projections, marketing plans and the types of cases you are going to focus on. In addition each attorney and area of practice should be broken out into its own cost center and required to stand on its own. This is just a starting point but to be successful you must focus on the “Business of Law”.

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Trial Lawyers and Business

Posted on January 9, 2011 by admin

Every law firm should have a business plan and update as conditions change or annually at a minimum. After a thorough assessment of your needs, priorities, and goals, you can create tailor-made systems and solutions designed to strengthen your business where it needs help most – maybe it’s managing your finances, case acquisition strategies, marketing or your retirement options. Most firms leave these and the many other challenges facing plaintiff lawyers to chance.

At the conclusion of every case you should review and summarize the results. A thorough cost/benefit analysis is necessary to determine whether or not you are deploying your resources in the most efficient way and maximizing results for both your clients and your firm.

Tap both your personal and professional network to improve your handling of the business side of law. As you do for your cases arm your law firm with the tools and experts necessary to maximize efficiency and you will increase your firm’s future outlook immediately. And best of all, no matter how complex your question, help is just a phone call away as there are tens of thousands of plaintiff’s lawyers either going through or have gone through similar challenges. Don’t look at every lawyer as a potential competitor; look at them as a potential partner and a pool of knowledge. You should be networking and tapping this resource continuously. You should freely share your experience, knowledge and work to help other trial lawyers and this will improve all fortunes.

I know that each firm faces unique challenges and opportunities so it is necessary to assess both your strengths and weaknesses.

You always hire experts to advise and help maximize your cases why not afford yourself the same benefit. Sometimes all you need is an expert to use as a sounding board as you deal with the challenges of an unstable market while other times you may need outside expertise to guide your firm to the next level. Challenge yourself and your firm to be a strong business first and power your practice to the next level.

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Law Firm Year End Cash Flow Planning

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Bill Tilley

As year-end approaches, plaintiff attorneys should remember that they can structure their fees. With just a few weeks left in 2010, now is a great time to consider cash flow planning.

Structuring fees allows attorneys paid on a contingent-fee basis to recognize taxable income as they receive their periodic payments. The entire fee can be used to purchase periodic payments with pre-tax dollars, providing a greater initial investment and potentially reducing their overall tax burden.

Contingent attorney fees that result from both qualified and non-qualified settlements can potentially be structured. The periodic payments can be customized to provide a stable income stream that can provide for retirement or ongoing expenses of the law firm. In addition, future lump sum payments can be established to pay for large anticipated expenses.

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Pre-Settlement Attorney Loan and Post-Settlement Attorney Fee Funding Market?

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Bill Tilley

The larger market, which provides loans and revolving lines of credit to law firms with a broad portfolio of cases that are in various stages of litigation, most of which are not yet settled. The smaller market, being post-settlements, where a specialty finance company provides an advance or an outright purchase of earned, but not collected legal fees from cases that have already been settled. Whereas plaintiff’s attorneys often find it necessary to invest large sums of money in case development costs (including: expert witness fees, deposition charges, demonstrative evidence, etc.), receivables are created which are repaid from case proceeds on successful outcomes.

By the end of 2000, the litigation finance market segment had just over $100 Million in committed loans provided by a few legal finance companies. Litigation finance has grown steadily to more than a dozen companies with outstanding loan commitments in excess of $1 Billion. Some companies focus on the larger plaintiffs firms and tend to gravitate toward firms handling mass torts and class actions as the costs involved in litigating these matters is immense with lines ranging from a few million to in excess of $20 Million per firm supported by litigation dockets that often exceed $100 Million in value. Numerous small companies focus on smaller firms providing lines typically between $100k and $3 Million with case portfolio values that total between a few million to over $60 Million.

For a more comprehensive overview of the legal finance industry click here.

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Trial law firms can accelerate cash flow

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Bill Tilley

Successful trial attorneys focus on winning their cases – which is how it should be. But too often, this focus on the meat of their work leads them to overlook an important business task: managing their money in a way that optimizes the availability of capital. Without paying attention to this important detail, many contingency-fee attorneys end up endlessly tying up their profits in case expenses, losing opportunities to better manage or expand their business.

Attorneys handling plaintiff’s cases face continuous financial challenges experienced by almost no other type of business.  Continually incurring significant expenses on each case well before any fee is collected.

The path to a settlement can be a very difficult process, but achieving the resolution is just the beginning, sometimes it can take many months and sometimes years to receive hard earned funds from a lawsuit settlement.

Post Settlement funding is one of the many tools now available to help trial lawyers strengthen their business. Rather than waiting months or longer to get paid, you can accelerate your attorney fees today. There is no need to wait for your hard earned fees due to court delays, class notifications or just an uncooperative defendant. You can make these funds immediately available to pursue new, larger, more profitable cases.

Learn more about Fee Acceleration and the many other options trial lawyers now have to improve the business of law here.

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