Legal Funding Defined

The core definition of legal funding states that the term is used to signify a transaction of any kind in which financing is obtained by using the interest of a person, attorney or company in a legal suing process. When one thinks about the typical, most common form of legal funding, they are usually referring to getting money upfront in exchange for selling a small portion to a funder (by the plaintiff) in the final ruling of the jury.

The reason why legal funding is so popular is the fact that, thanks to the way it works, it enables the plaintiff to avoid being in a position where they have no other choice but to accept an under-market, hasty offer to settle by the defendant. In the event that the case is won by the plaintiff, they are required to pay back the money in the amount that equals the initial investment, augmented by a rather large return; this is the way in which the legal founder earns money. However, due to the fact that a no-return initial payment is what the funder is offering, the plaintiff won’t be in debt to the funder, if the case is lost in court. In other words, the plaintiff will be able to hold on to the initial payment that the funder has given them; for this particular reason, legal funding is not considered to be a loan, but rather an investment. Many feel that legal funding can be compared to hiring an attorney of law, but this is not the case. The latter works as follows: If an attorney of law is hired by a litigant, a minor part of the case is essentially sold to the attorney, and in return, the attorney spends time focusing on the litigant’s lawsuit. The contingency lawyer gets nothing in the event of a loss.

However, when it comes to legal funding, a minor part of the case is sold by the litigant for money; that money is typically utilized in the purpose of paying for various expenses that pertain to emotional, economic and physical injuries that have to do with the lawsuit at hand. For example, in the event that a litigant happens to be unjustifiably fired from their work position, they could be faced with a situation where they just don’t possess the income necessary to take care of their bills or rent, while at the same time attempting to seek out justice against their former employer in court. The pursuit for this type of claim can often take months and even years.

Additionally, the people who aren’t capable of taking it slow in the quest for justice are less often “made whole”, which is to say – they are able to recuperate the total cost of their respective injury, than those who can. It’s important to state that individual plaintiffs are the only ones who are able to use legal funding; this type of funding solution is widely used by businesses and attorneys, as well. For example, if they aim for attorney legal funding, attorneys have the option of leveraging the contingency fees they are expecting. This way, the money they obtain can be used to help with managing cash flows that are otherwise unsteady, cover firm expenses and settle their litigation costs. Also, funding litigation that has to do with business disputes of different types is also something that companies do; this is done by involving finance companies who focus on litigation of a commercial character. There are countless different circumstances that allow the use of legal funding. This type of funding can virtually be used at any stage of a lawsuit, in a lawsuit of any kind and by any type of litigant. Among the many types of funding for plaintiffs in court, several most popular include: funding for patents, funding plaintiffs before a settlement, funding attorneys after settlements etc.

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.:About the author:.

James Sheridan - Pegasus Funding

James Sheridan is the Contracts Manager at Pegasus Legal Funding LLC and is responsible for the final stage of the funding approval process. James focus and priority is delivering to PLF’s clients the funds they need as quickly as possible
Author:James Sheridan

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