Sound Familiar?
Your Firm Is Profitable on Paper. The Bank Account Tells a Different Story.
Right now you’ve got seven figures in active cases and a pipeline of fees that are all but earned — just not yet collected. Payroll’s Friday. Expert-witness invoices are stacking up across a dozen matters. The associate you need to take on the next big case costs six figures you’d have to front for a year before the work pays. And the bank looks at your operating account, sees lumpy deposits and no hard collateral, and calls your practice a risk. None of that is a profitability problem — the fees are in the pipeline. It’s capital stuck between the work you’re doing and the day the case pays.
If every fee you’ve earned but haven’t collected were working instead of waiting — how many more cases could you take on at once?
Bobby’s Take
Law firms are some of the lowest-risk borrowers out there — if your bank denied you, they don’t understand how contingency practices work. I talk to managing partners every week who turn down a strong case because they can’t front the experts, or lose a paralegal because a settlement slipped. That’s not a practice problem; it’s a financing problem. One file reaches the lenders who underwrite your caseload and deposits instead of your billing model, structures the case costs, the payroll, and the growth together, and funds in days — no liens on your cases, no say in how you try them. So picture next year with the capital to take every case worth taking on merit, not cash — what does the firm bill that it can’t right now?
Bobby Friel, Founder, Basecamp Funding · 20+ years in banking and finance
The Real Challenges
The Real Challenges Law Firms Face — and How Funding Solves Each One
| What it costs you | What solves it | Typical range | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contingency payment delays | Cases take 12–18 months to settle; zero income during litigation. | Working capital or line of credit | $250K–$5M | 1–3 days |
| Case-expense funding | Expert witnesses, depositions, medical records, filing costs across a portfolio. | Working capital / case-cost line | $250K–$5M | 1–2 days |
| Partner buyouts | A founding partner retiring; equity buyout negotiated. | Revenue-based capital stack (term loan + working capital) | $500K–$20M+ | 2–4 weeks |
| Client payment delays (net-60/90) | Corporate clients pay slowly; retainers consumed. | Invoice factoring or A/R line | $250K–$5M | 1–2 days |
| Office expansion | A growing firm needs space, technology, and staff. | Working capital or owner-occupied CRE | $250K–$5M | Days–weeks |
| Marketing / client acquisition | SEO, ads, and intake spend with delayed ROI. | Working capital or line of credit | $250K–$5M | 1–3 days |
| Lateral & associate hiring | New attorneys carry immediate payroll before the work pays. | Working capital | $250K–$5M | 1–3 days |
Larger lines available when revenue, cash flow, and story qualify.
Commercial insurance for your law firm → InsuranceService365.com (29 states).
The Numbers That Matter
The Firm’s Money, Stuck in the Pipeline
12–18 mo
The average contingency case takes this long to settle — over a year of work and case costs fronted before a single fee lands.
American Bar Association
$15K–$50K/mo
Law-firm overhead runs this much every month regardless of case status — payroll and rent don’t wait for the verdict.
Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute
73%
of solo attorneys report cash flow as their top business challenge — not demand, not talent, but the gap between work and payment.
Clio Legal Trends Report
Capital Stacking
One File. The Whole Firm Funded.
Most growing firms need more than one thing at once — a case-cost line to fund the experts, a payroll bridge across the settlement gap, and the capital to acquire a retiring partner’s book before a competitor does. A bank lends to the weakest line on the page — your “unpredictable” contingency income — and prices the whole thing off it. A marketplace structures each piece with the lender who underwrites it best — a term loan against engagement-fee revenue, working capital for the gap, a case-cost line for the litigation spend — then stacks them into the number the firm actually needs.
Funded into the full number — without a lien on a single one of your cases.
How a $1.8M partner buyout gets funded
Term loan caps at $750K? The remainder stacks — for the full structure, see commercial financing.
Firms We’ve Funded
We’ve Funded Law Firms Like Yours
Representative scenarios — illustrative, anonymized figures, not specific client transactions.
Start Here
Find Your Structure in 60 Seconds
Move the slider for your estimated range, then answer three quick questions to lock it in. No documents to start. Soft-pull review — no score impact.
What Happens When You Start
Estimate Your Capital Range
Slide to your annual gross revenue. We size capital off your top line — not your credit score.
Estimated Capital Range
A conservative range based on 10-15% of annual revenue — many businesses qualify for more with strong receivables or assets behind them. Lenders return real term sheets once they see your file.
60 seconds · No obligation · Estimate only
What a managing partner hears every week
“A litigation financier takes a lien on your cases and a say in how you run them. We don’t — you’re funded on the firm, and the cases stay yours.”
Bobby Friel · Founder, Basecamp Funding
Why Us
Why Law Firms Fund With Us Instead of Their Bank
The Real Cost
Where Could the Firm Be Right Now?
The cases you can’t staff never show up on a term sheet — but every week the capital isn’t in place, it compounds. If capital set the pace instead of capping it — where would this firm be a year from now?
Structure Your Capital Plan →Tax Strategy
Section 179 + 100% Bonus Depreciation on Your Technology & Equipment
If last year was strong and you’re about to write a check to the IRS — stop. Acquire qualifying equipment with as little as 10% down, finance the rest, and write off the full purchase price in year one. Section 179 covers it up to the annual cap; 100% bonus depreciation — made permanent in 2025, with no cap and no income limit — carries the rest.
At the top bracket, that first-year deduction can return meaningful tax savings — and for an established business with strong cash flow, it’s the difference between writing a check to the IRS and putting the same money into your own equipment. Your CPA models the exact numbers for your bracket and structure.
Worked scenario · top bracket · illustrative
You financed the machine and put down a fraction of its price — but you deduct the full price in year one. The write-off is bigger than your down payment, and the equipment keeps working the whole time.
Scales with your numbers
Illustrative only. Actual savings depend on your tax bracket, entity type, state conformity, and CPA guidance. Section 179 and bonus depreciation are elections your CPA makes for your situation; above the Section 179 cap, 100% bonus depreciation carries the balance.
Terms reflect credit, revenue, time in business, and each lender. Every file is unique — see what the desk structures for yours in the 60-second qualifier.
Bobby’s Take
“If you’re paying cash for tech upgrades over six figures, run the Section 179 numbers first. Finance it, deduct it, and keep your cash for cases.”
Bobby Friel · Founder · 20+ years in banking and finance
Avoid These
5 Funding Mistakes That Cost Law Firms the Most
Advancing six figures in case costs on a high-interest card costs far more than a business line of credit — and entangles your personal credit. Use a line built for it.
Contingency cases create feast-or-famine cash flow. A line of credit costs nothing until drawn and keeps operations running between settlements.
Settling a strong case early — for less than it’s worth — just to make payroll is the most expensive financing there is. A line of credit costs a fraction of what you’d leave on the table, and lets you try the case on its merits instead of your bank balance.
A guaranteed invoice from a corporate client, paid in 90 days, is cash you can’t deploy. Invoice factoring advances most of it now, so payroll and growth don’t wait on the client’s accounting department.
Case management, e-discovery, and cybersecurity aren’t luxuries — they’re malpractice prevention. Financing spreads the cost and preserves cash for cases.
Put It to Work
Use Your Capital For
01Case expensesSee howLess“How many strong cases have you passed on because you couldn’t front the experts?”
Working capital for expert witnesses, depositions, and discovery — no case-level liens.
Structure this02Payroll across the gapSee howLess“When a settlement slips a quarter, what keeps payroll whole?”
A line of credit that bridges the 30–90-day-plus collection cycle.
Structure this03Marketing & client acquisitionSee howLess“What’s the case pipeline worth if your intake spend weren’t capped by last quarter’s cash?”
Working capital for SEO, ads, and intake.
Structure this04Technology & softwareSee howLess“What’s aging case-management or e-discovery costing you in efficiency and risk?”
Equipment/technology financing; Section 179 year one.
Structure this05Office & expansionSee howLess“When the lease comes up, are you signing again or buying the space this time?”
Working capital or owner-occupied CRE for the office that projects your firm’s credibility.
Structure this06Hiring & expansionSee howLess“What could you take on if the next associate were on board before the big case lands?”
Working capital to scale ahead of settlements.
Structure this07Practice acquisitionSee howLess“What book or firm would you acquire if capital weren’t months away at the bank?”
Revenue-based capital stacking for the acquisition.
Structure this08Partner buyoutSee howLess“How do you buy out a retiring partner without draining the firm’s reserves?”
A term loan against engagement-fee revenue plus working capital, stacked.
Structure this09Slow-pay corporate clientsSee howLess“How much cash is sitting in net-90 invoices from clients who will pay, just slowly?”
Invoice factoring or an A/R line that advances most of it now.
Structure this10Debt consolidationSee howLess“What would the firm’s monthly cash look like if the high-cost advances and litigation-finance agreements were one payment?”
Consolidate; rate-review later — get funded now, optimize later.
Structure this11Multi-office growthSee howLess“What’s the second or third office you’d open if the buildout and ramp were funded before the revenue proves it?”
A stacked structure for expansion.
Structure this12Professional developmentSee howLess“What new jurisdictions or certifications would expand the practice if training and admissions were funded?”
Working capital for CLE, bar admissions, and team capability.
Structure thisFunding by the Size of the Need
Funded at Every Stage
One application, multiple lenders — and a file read on your caseload funds in days, whether the need is $250K or $20M+.
How It Works
From Qualifier to Funded in Five Steps
No paperwork avalanche. No bank lobby. No guessing.
Qualify
A few questions about the business, right here. No documents to start.
Application
A soft credit pull and a quick document review to pre-underwrite the file.
Matched to the Right Lenders
The specialist lenders who fund your business - the right lender on each piece.
One Advisor, Real Term Sheets
Your advisor brings back real term sheets, not estimates, and walks the structure.
Structured & Funded
Accept the structure that fits, sign digitally - funded in days, not months.
For the application, have ready
Under two years in business, or the returns show a loss? We can structure on bank statements alone.
Full Transparency
What Kills Your Qualification — and What Doesn’t
Most lenders won’t tell you this up front. We will.
By Practice Area
Financing by Practice Area
Every practice type — click yours for tailored options.
Contingency fees = future revenue; case-cost financing; recurring retainers — funded around how the fees actually land.
Recommended Products
The Products Law Firms Fund With
Matched to how the fees actually land — and stacked into the full number when one isn’t enough.
Working Capital
Case expenses, payroll, and operations while waiting on settlements.
Business Line of Credit
Draw for case costs and operations, repay as fees come in.
Term Loans
Fund a partner buy-in, a firm acquisition, or a major investment.
Commercial Real Estate
Buy or renovate the office that projects the credibility clients expect.
Business Acquisition
Revenue-based capital stacking for practice acquisitions, partner buyouts, and case-file purchases.
Invoice Factoring
Turn outstanding corporate invoices into immediate cash.
FAQs
Law Firm Financing — Questions Attorneys Ask
Yes. Unlike banks that see zero revenue during active cases, our lenders understand a $2M settlement pipeline is real revenue that hasn’t resolved yet. They evaluate your case portfolio, operating history, and monthly deposits.
Most firms qualify for roughly 100–150% of average monthly deposits. A firm depositing $200K/month often qualifies for $200K–$300K+, and established firms with strong portfolios qualify for far more. For acquisitions, see /loans/business-acquisition — revenue-based capital stacking against existing firm cash flow.
Revenue-based capital stacking: a term loan against existing engagement-fee revenue covers the goodwill, working capital covers transition payroll, and a case-cost line covers litigation already in the pipeline. Several lender lines, one specialist coordinating, typically 21–30 days from full file to funded. See /loans/business-acquisition.
Contingency billing doesn’t disqualify you — feast-or-famine cash flow is exactly what these lenders expect. Approval rides on your deposits and operating history, and the cases stay yours.
Working capital for case expenses can fund in 24–48 hours; emergency needs can move as fast as same day. Lines of credit fund in 1–3 days and let you draw across cases without reapplying.
Yes, through equipment/technology financing (6 months–10 years) or working capital, with Section 179 often available. Comprehensive systems typically run well into six figures across offices.
Not with our lenders. Most attorneys carry $150K+ in student debt; banks count it against you. Our lenders evaluate firm revenue, deposits, and cash flow, not personal debt load.
No. A soft-pull review has zero impact on your FICO. A hard pull only happens if you choose to move forward with a specific lender’s offer.
The Operator’s Guide
Law Firm Financing, the Way the Fees Actually Land
Why banks misread a law firm
Here’s what banks don’t understand about a law firm: your money is always in the pipeline. In a contingency case that won’t pay for 14 months. In a net-90 invoice from a client who will absolutely pay, just slowly. In expert-witness costs you fronted on a case you’ll win. The bank sees lumpy deposits and no hard collateral and panics. The lenders here underwrite the caseload and the deposits — and never put a lien on your cases.
I talk to managing partners and solo practitioners every week who waited too long. They turned down a strong case because they couldn’t fund the experts. They lost their best paralegal because payroll was late. They paid a litigation financier far more than a line of credit would have cost — and gave that financier a say in the case. Don’t be that firm.
Every practice area, funded around the fee cycle
Personal injury, family law, criminal defense, immigration, corporate, real estate, estate planning, bankruptcy, employment, mass tort, IP, and tax attorneys — we fund all of them. Working capital in as fast as a day. Lines of credit you draw when settlements slip and repay when they land. Revenue-based capital stacking for practice acquisitions and partner buyouts — a term loan against existing case-fee revenue plus working capital. Owner-occupied real estate for the office you’d rather own than rent. The capital matched to the firm, then stacked into the full number.
If you’ve got millions in cases but can’t make this month’s payroll, start the review. If your founding partner is retiring and you need to fund the buyout before another firm swoops in, start the review. A few minutes, soft-pull, no score impact. Most firms hear back within hours.
