Post Settlement Financing: Why An Attorney Would Need It
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. That’s one of the questions we get asked a lot here at Balanced Bridge when someone hears about post-settlement advances for the first time. In a lot of circumstances, distribution of settlement proceeds will happen in short order after an agreement is reached. Your client will get their award and you can collect on your fee – life moves on.
However, there are circumstances where payment will be delayed even after all parties agree to a settlement. Here are just a few examples of such delays we see at Balanced Bridge, for which post-settlement funding would be appropriate .
Medicare Liens
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. Injury attorneys often lament dealing with a Medicare lien as part of a PI case. The process to find information and ultimately resolve such a lien can take several months at least and Medicare does not move quickly.
Often, Medicare can hold up the settlement check at the end of the case if an attorney does not have their final demand. That money can often be sitting for several months or longer before payment of the client award and the attorney fee is made.
Workers’ Compensation Liens
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. Like injury lawsuits, workers’ compensation cases can sometimes experience delays related to liens. Sometimes, an employee who is injured on the job submits a workers’ comp claim while also filing a personal injury lawsuit for that same ailment.
In those situations where the insurance company files a subrogation claim to recoup costs from the injury portion of the case, we have often seen delays while an attorney negotiates the ultimate value of such lien. Like in the case of Medicare, a settlement can sometimes be held up for several months while an agreement is reached on said lien.
Class Action Approval Process
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. With the lengthy process that often arises before ultimate approval of a class action settlement, Balanced Bridge sees a lot of clients looking for advances on their fees in such cases. Sometimes, the gap between preliminary and final approval alone can be 4-6 months or longer.
Plus, there could be certain plaintiffs who opt out or appeal the preliminarily approved settlement agreement, and those cases would need to be heard before final approval could happen. Delays in those situations can sometimes extend past a year after the initial agreement is hammered out.
Large-Scale Litigation
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. In general, large-scale litigation like MDL cases often have delays just from the sheer number of claimants that must be evaluated. The approval process can only move so fast, and often attorneys involved in such cases can spend months waiting for their clients to have their awards verified and for their fees to collect.
Your Plaintiff Client Is A Minor
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. With clients who are minors, attorneys have often cited delays while the case goes to a judge for approval.
If a particular court has a full schedule, these proceedings (from scheduling the court date to the hearing) can add 3-6 months or longer to the settlement process even after an agreement has been reached, which again means more time until payment of attorney fees.
Settlements Won Against City/County/State
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. Sometimes, cases won against a city, county or state have delays before such entities distribute a check to pay the settlement. These can vary depending on the area, but often arise due to a short staff in place to handle such payments or due to budgetary issues. Here at Balanced Bridge, we’ve sometimes seen 3-6 month or longer delays until payment is made.
Binding High/Low Agreements
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. Such agreements can provide a level or security for both the plaintiff and defense side of a case in select circumstances. In those situations, it’s nice for the plaintiff attorney to know there will be some resolution that will allow a fee collection, but again, there will be a payment delay until the trial is complete and the verdict dictates which amount within the high-low agreement will apply.
If you’re dealing with these or other delays, here’s the good news.
Post Settlement Funding: Why An Attorney Would Need It. Balanced Bridge specializes in advances for attorneys on fees delayed for these and other reasons. If you have documentation pertaining to the agreement and to your fee, we can often fund within a few days. Balanced Bridge’s post-settlement funding product can help with cash flow issues that can arise when expected payments get held up.
Feel free to call us at 267-457-4540 to speak today about how post-settlement advances can help your practice. You can also visit our website for more information or fill out our online funding form today.
Written by Richard Heilshorn , Senior Investment Analyst at Balanced Bridge.
