Companies come to me an offer their money on my clients cases. That money is not free money. It is very expensive money that the client eventually has to pay back from their settlement or verdict. Lots of big firms use this type of funding. It’s my opinion this type of funding helps the lawyer and does not help the client. As such, I do not use it.
Third-party litigation funding is common in personal injury law — but Louisville attorney Brian Dettman won’t touch it. In a recent post, he explained why: “That money is not free money. It is very expensive money that the client eventually has to pay back from their settlement or verdict.” While many large firms rely on outside funding to carry cases, Dettman Law believes this practice benefits the law firm far more than the injured client. At Dettman Law, cases are handled without passing hidden financial costs onto clients. Transparency matters. If you’ve been injured in a car crash or accident in Kentucky, choose a lawyer who puts your recovery — not outside investors — first.
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The easiest way to tell if a lawyer is a good lawyer or a bad lawyer — from my perspective — is to ask them one simple question: Do you use litigation funding?
Let me explain. Companies come to lawyers like me. They know I’m working on cases and that I put my own money into those cases to make them work — that’s called costs. But there are companies in big fancy cities that have developed a way to fund these cases. They come to lawyers and say: “Hey, instead of you spending $100,000 of your own money on a case, spend $100,000 of our money.” But instead of paying back $100,000, you’re going to pay back way more than that — and guess who gets charged for that? The client. And what that does is put less money in the client’s pocket at the end of the day.
So if you want to know whether your lawyer is willing to put their money where their mouth is — ask them if they use litigation funding. And if they do, know that it’s probably going to affect the amount of money in your pocket. There are very specific, nuanced cases where I would be okay with it, but those are very few and far between.
