Business funding for law firms
Law firms carry two very different cash-flow patterns side by side. A transactional or general-practice firm bills hourly or on retainer and waits 30 to 90 days to collect, while a contingency-fee firm (personal injury, class action) advances real costs, filing fees, expert witnesses, medical records, for months or years before a case resolves and nothing is guaranteed to come back. Either pattern can leave payroll and overhead due well before the matching revenue lands.
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- No fee to you, ever
Common funding needs
- Covering advanced case costs (experts, filing fees, medical records) on contingency matters
- Payroll and overhead while outstanding invoices on hourly matters are collected
- Office build-out, moving or expansion costs for a growing practice
- Technology or case-management software and hardware
- Bridging a slow intake month without touching the firm's trust account
What usually fits
Products that usually fit
- Line of credit for case-cost and payroll timing gaps, drawn only when needed.
- Invoice factoring for firms billing corporate clients on 30-90 day terms (factoring never applies to client trust funds).
- Working capital for a short, specific gap.
- Term loan for an office build-out or expansion.
Compare term loans, lines of credit, cash advances and equipment financing side by side →
Illustrative example
A worked example
A firm needs $50,000 to cover advanced costs across several active contingency matters while waiting on settlements. As a line of credit drawn as needed at an illustrative 9-22% a year, carrying $50,000 for 6 months costs roughly $3,875-$5,500 in interest, far less than financing the same amount through a short-term cash-flow product not built for multi-month timelines.
A firm billing corporate clients $40,000 a month on 60-day terms can instead factor those invoices, at an illustrative fee of roughly 1-5% per month outstanding with an 80-95% advance, turning receivables into cash within days rather than waiting out the full term.
Illustrative example only, not an offer or a quote. Rates, fees and terms are set by each lender and depend on your business. Fees are not included unless stated.
Underwriting
What lenders look at
- Monthly firm operating-account deposits (never the trust/IOLTA account, which lenders cannot touch or count)
- Mix of contingency vs. hourly/retainer billing
- Average time to collect on hourly invoices, or average case duration for contingency work
- Existing case-cost financing or litigation funding arrangements, if any
- Partner credit and time the firm has operated
Honestly
Who this is not for
- Financing against a specific case's expected settlement value (that is litigation funding, a different product we do not refer)
- Any product that would touch or be secured by client trust funds
- A firm with no operating-account deposit history yet
If borrowing does not make sense, we will say so.
Are you a match?
Lender network minimums
Close but not quite there? Apply anyway and we will tell you honestly what is possible.
*Best available terms from lenders in our network. Every lender sets its own criteria; approval, amount and funding time are decided by the lender and not guaranteed.
| Time in business | 1 year+ |
|---|---|
| Monthly bank deposits | $20,000+ |
| Credit score | 500+ |
| Bank account | Business |
| Fee to you | $0 |
| Credit pull to start | None |
FAQ
Law firms funding questions
Can a law firm borrow against an expected settlement?
No, not through the products we refer. Borrowing secured by a specific case's expected outcome is litigation funding, a separate, specialized product we do not refer. We refer general business financing secured by the firm's own cash flow and assets.
Does financing ever touch client trust (IOLTA) funds?
No. Business financing is based on the firm's own operating account and assets. Trust funds are never collateral and are not counted as firm revenue.
Can invoice factoring work for a contingency-fee practice?
Factoring applies to invoiced receivables with a defined payment term, so it fits firms billing corporate or insurance clients on terms. It does not apply to contingency fees, which are contingent on a case outcome, not a billed invoice.
How do lenders view a firm with mostly contingency cases?
They look at the firm's operating deposits and history, not individual case values. A firm with steady costs and a track record of resolving cases is in a stronger position than one just starting to take contingency work.
Guides
Guides for law firms
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