What is Consumer Legal Funding?
Consumer Legal Funding helps consumers who have a pending legal claim and who are represented by an attorney to access funds to help them make ends meet while they wait for a fair settlement to be reached in their case. Typical legal claims involve an auto accident or other types of Personal Injury. Consumer Legal Funding is also referred to as:
- Consumer Lawsuit Lending
- Alternative Legal Funding
- Pre-settlement Funding
- Third Party Litigation Funding
- Alternative Litigation Financing
- Civil Litigation Funding
As countless Americans struggle in the midst of economic hardship and persistent unemployment, the need for financial assistance during uncertain times continues to grow. This is especially true among working class individuals who miss work or who are unable to work due to personal injury accidents. Consumer Legal Funding (CLF) is often that lifeline, providing these struggling Americans with a bridge to a more stable future.
Currently in the U.S., approximately 60% of individuals lack a rainy day fund to cover expenses for three months, in case of emergencies like illness, job loss or economic downturn.
CLF assists consumers while they wait for a fair and just settlement to be reached in their case. These funds are used solely to pay for personal expenses such as rent, groceries and other household expenses, rather than litigation expenses.
Concurrently, the industry’s is working with countless policy makers; by creating the regulatory and legislative frameworks to help guide the industry’s development in a responsible and legal manner.
With effective regulation already in place in states as diverse as Nebraska, Maine, Oklahoma and Ohio, the CLF industry continues to engage a wide variety of stakeholders in promoting the advancement of best practices that protect consumers (and their attorneys) when they pursue CLF. With CLF, consumers can now settle their claims based on merit and within the confines of the legal system, and not simply because they find themselves in desperate straits and unable to pay for expenses like rent, groceries, or even car payments.
Who Benefits?
In the last decade alone, hundreds of thousands of consumers have benefitted from legal funding. For everyday Americans who do not have emergency savings and have been hurt, consumer legal funding offers a lifeline.