Considering Lawsuit Funding, Settlement Funding, Or Lawsuit Loans? Will You Need An Attorney?

For those of you considering lawsuit funding, you'll find that an attorney is absolutely essential when settling your car wreck case. There are many advantages to individuals who retain an attorney when engaging in any form of litigation. Too often, we have a tendency to attempt to cut corners, concluding that we will save money by not retaining an attorney. Unfortunately, this customarily results in a tremendous amount of frustration for the plaintiff and a substantially reduced settlement.

Remember, time is on the defendant's side. Those who are responsible for paying your bills are certainly in no hurry to pay for damages you sustained. Furthermore, they realize that most plaintiffs have limited patience. When protracted delays are employed, defendants often succeed in convincing plaintiffs to abandon litigation. It is unlikely that those responsible for paying the bills will have any regard for individuals pursuing settlement loans. Once again, they derive no benefit to settle the claim quickly. Naturally, plaintiffs often have a great deal to lose with protracted delays.

Someone once said, "An incompetent attorney can delay a trial for years or months. A competent attorney can delay one even longer." If you're an individual pursuing litigation, you're likely to conclude that those responsible for paying for damages sustained have engaged a "competent" attorney.

Individuals frequently seek lawsuit funding because of the dire financial straits arising from the ongoing litigation. Many individuals suggest that settlement funding is to be used in a cavalier manner, principally in spending the funds on a whim. Perhaps our clients are unlike most of those encountered. However, I've yet to encounter clients who seek lawsuit loans to go on a vacation, etc.

In contradistinction to the foregoing, the vast majority of our clients seek lawsuit funding as a last resort. In most cases, the plaintiffs are one missed-payment away from foreclosure on their homes. Many of these individuals are desperate - some of them forced to live in shelters and/or on the streets. Undoubtedly, individuals who sustain injuries as a result of car wrecks in which they have been involved would be wise to retain a competent attorney. Individuals who do retain an attorney substantially increase the likelihood of obtaining favorable settlements, not to mention settlement funding.

The truth of the matter is that individuals seeking lawsuit funding are not going to prevail if they do not retain an attorney to represent them in the underlying litigation. There are few, if any, funding-entities that will advance lawsuit loans to individuals who are not represented by attorneys. Although there are many reasons that settlement funding will not be advanced in such cases, the principal reason is that those who are advancing settlement loans want to know that the individuals with whom they are communicating clearly understand both the strengths and weaknesses of the case and are capable of carefully advising their clients with respect to any liens that will be attached to the settlement. Remember, although lawsuit funding is non-recourse (i.e., if you lose the underlying lawsuit, you do not have to repay the monies advanced), settlement loans must be repaid in the event of a successful outcome in the underlying litigation.

Make no mistake about it, if you're pursuing lawsuit funding, you need to retain a competent attorney. Furthermore, for those pursuing lawsuit loans, they will find it much easier to wend their way through the course of litigation with an attorney at their side. Individuals who do retain an attorney will find the process of litigation much more tolerable. Attorneys are likely to assist their clients when they are seeking lawsuit funding to quickly produce requisite documentation that will assist funding-entities in determining the amount of lawsuit loans that may be advanced.