What is a better investment, Commercial or Consumer Legal Funding? (2 of 2)
Public
June 12, 2023
What is a better investment, Commercial or Consumer Legal Funding? (2 of 2)
Executive Summary
Consumer legal funding is a much more consistent and predictable asset class
Headline risks, while real in the earlier days of the industry’s evolution, are now consistent with more mature consumer finance asset classes
Consumer legal funding has a strong ESG component through the social benefits provided to the segment of society that relies on it the most
Slingshot Insights:
On a risk-adjusted basis, factoring in volatility and predictability of returns, the pre-settlement advance industry outperforms the commercial legal finance industry
Duration predictability, return rates and loss rates are the main factors for out-performance
Investors would be mistaken to overlook the consumer legal finance market in assessing various non-correlated investment asset classes
As with any asset class, manager selection is critical to investment success
In part 1 of this article, I provided some background on the consumer litigation finance market, with a focus on the pre-settlement advances sub-sector which is the largest segment of the consumer legal finance market. Part I also discussed how the market has regulated, evolved and bifurcated. In the second part of this two part series, I discuss the underlying economics of the pre-settlement advance subsegment, the status of regulation and some thoughts on how the market continues to evolve and why institutional investors are increasingly getting involved. Underlying Economics One of the first research reports that attracted me to the PSA market was a 2018 study that was undertaken by Professors Ronen Avraham and Anthony Sebok entitled “An Empirical Investigation of Third Party Consumer Litigant Funding”. It was the first large scale empirical study of consumer legal funding in the United States which analyzed over 100,000 funding requests over a 12-year period provided by one of the largest consumer legal funders in the US. While the analysis was inherently skewed because it came from a single funder, the large size of the data set is likely representative of the broader market, and hence many of the insights highlighted by the authors are likely true of the broader market to one degree or another, with certain insights being specific to the funder and its approach. Without going into the details of the report (see highlights below), suffice it to say the report demystified much of the industry and debunked many of the criticisms that were levelled at the industry by naysayers and those with an economic incentive to ensure the industry was not successful. Perhaps “lying” is a bit harsh, but there were certainly many distortions being promulgated about the industry that were neither present in the data nor a reflection of the specific funder’s business. Source: https://www.americanlegalfin.com/alfaresources/ On the plus side, the research discovered that while loss rates were relatively high at 12% (again, possibly a consequence of the risk & return threshold of this particular funder) there were numerous instances of the funder taking “hair cuts” (i.e. reducing their accepted returns to below contracted levels) for the benefit of the consumer. In other words, the funders ‘have a heart’ and will proactively reduce their return expectations to leave the injured party in a position that is more equitable than if they stuck to their contracted terms. On the negative side, the net return profile was 44% per annum, which suggests that even after losses and “hair cuts” this is an expensive form of financing. Keep in mind, this study was over a 12-year period prior to 2018, and the rates today are likely not as high as they were in the beginning of the industry due to competition and regulation. A second explanation for the relatively high rates is that depending on the funder’s risk profile, the funder may be willing to take on more risk (i.e. accept more losses) than another funder in return for a higher rate of interest. Whereas another funder may be more conservative and have stricter underwriting standards, accepting fewer cases and lower loss rates, but also charging lower rates of return. Also keep in mind that given how litigious a society the US has become, we must appreciate that inherent in the personal injury system is a higher level of frivolous claims than you might fund in other jurisdictions which could also explain a higher loss rate. For me, this report legitimized (i) the need for, and societal benefits of, this form of financing, (ii) the size of the total addressable market, and (iii) that the competitors in this market (while likely earning an oversized return in the early days of the industry) were flexible with consumers and willing to forego returns to make the outcome fair for all interested parties. In other words, it appeared the market was functioning similar to other consumer-facing finance markets. Benefits of Diversification, Loss Rates & Durational Certainty As I looked at the PSA market, I looked at it through the lens of both the private equity market and the commercial legal finance (CLF) market, and there a few notable differences that make this a more attractive market than commercial legal finance. First, the portfolios inherent in many funders’ businesses are highly diversified. With an average financing size of $3,000, there are hundreds to thousands of claims in any given portfolio. With diversification comes stability, and with the inherent low overall loss rates comes a predictability of returns – all music to the ears of an investor. The one significant problem that appears to be persistent in the commercial legal finance market is the prevalence of overly concentrated portfolios and high concentration limits within fund documents. The consequence of high concentration is high volatility, and that is exactly what is present in most CLF portfolios, hence the increasing need to apply expensive insurance. The other issue for most CLF investments is uncertainty about duration. The personal injury legal market is fairly predictable from a timing perspective, and because the financing is interest rate based (as opposed to tied to a fixed multiple of capital), time is not your enemy (with some exceptions) from an investor’s perspective. CLF on the other hand is very unpredictable from a duration perspective, varying from months to several years. As many commercial funding contracts cap returns to a multiple of drawn capital, time is initially your friend but ultimately your enemy. The unpredictable nature is the bane of the existence for publicly listed commercial legal finance firms, as their shareholders want predictable case outcomes generating predictable returns and cashflows, but the portfolios are inherently unpredictable, and so many times the public shareholders are disappointed. Accordingly, their inherent cashflow volatility prevents their stock prices from reflecting true value (said another way, their stock prices reflect the true value of their businesses after adjusting for the unpredictability of their cashflows). The PSA market, on the other hand, is very predictable, which is why it has been able to obtain risk ratings and thereby attract conservative institutional capital at a relatively low cost of capital. As an investor, I would take a stable 10-15% return all day along in the face of a volatile return profile in the CLF market that can vary from -10% to +30%. They may (emphasis on “may”) both average out to the same return over the long run, one just allows you to sleep much better at night. Similarly, from a business owner’s perspective, stable and predictable returns will always be more highly valued than volatile returns, and so as a business owner, you are significantly better off aiming for predictability for a given return profile. In addition, this will allow business owners to create equity value that they can later monetize through the sale of their business, which is something CLF managers will have difficulty doing due to the volatility of their portfolios. Regulation Another aspect of an industry’s underlying economics is the consistency of the regulatory regime and the potential impact changes in regulations could have on the industry and its economics. On this item, there was less certainty at the time I made my first investment, but as time has progressed, it is clear that more and more states are considering or implementing new regulations for the PSA industry. Legal doctrines of champerty and maintenance are generally being set aside, but not always. Some states view PSA as loans, and hence subject to usury limitations, whereas other states have determined they are not loans because they are non-recourse other than to the outcome of the case, which precludes them from the definition of loans. Some states, like West Virginia, have placed onerous interest rate limitations which have essentially decimated the industry, whereas others have put in place more reasonable limitations. Some states have come out against PSA and others believe it is a necessary part of a functioning economy and supportive of individual rights (Minnesota is still ruling on whether funding is a loan). The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been monitoring the PSA market since 2011, but it is not quite clear whether they have the authority to regulate the industry and attempts by the CFPB to do so have been rebuffed for the most part – the key distinction seems to be whether these are recourse loans or non-recourse advances. The first is a loan product arguably under the purview of the CFPB, and the second is not contemplated under the CFPB’s mandate. It appears to date the CFBP has only pursued post-settlement lenders and structured settlement providers, which are a different part of the consumer market. Today, regulatory risk remains in the market as most states have not contemplated or implemented regulations, but no different than the payday loan market, done properly and without undue influence from interested parties but in the context of the market’s economic reality and keeping consumer rights in mind, a regulated marketplace brings stability to the market and standards that are ultimately beneficial for consumer and market participants who rely on stability. A ’Feel Good’ Asset Class Beyond the hard numbers, the risk profile and the cash-on-cash returns, lies the “feel good” nature of this asset class, which is what attracted me to the commercial legal finance market. For all of the headline risk and the early profiteering that happens in every industry, PSA is a necessity in the market and becomes increasingly important as our societies become further economically stratified and the middle class continues to thin. Despite its costs, and there are good economic reasons for its cost (within reason), it provides a strong societal benefit to allow those whose lives have been turned upside down as a result of an accident that has had health (mental & physical), financial and personal costs that most of us cannot imagine. The industry represents a ‘ray of hope’ for someone who may have lost hope due to their circumstances. I would posit that the industry itself is not predatory (although I will admit there are profiteers), but in fact is a tool to be used against the predatory insurance companies who are not being held accountable by state regulators because it is impossible for the regulators to respond to every single personal injury claim. If nothing else, insurance is designed to help the injured and the remediation should be swift and commensurate with the financial damage. Having to wait 3-4 years for a settlement outcome and pay out of pocket for hospital bills is anything but swift or commensurate, and is merely a tactic by insurance companies to benefit from the time value of money (i.e. a dollar today is worth less in a year’s time). Investors can take comfort in the fact that funders do not pursue frivolous claims because the risk/reward of doing so upsets the predictability of the industry’s cashflows. Then there are Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) considerations…. In a world full of ‘ESG washing’, legal finance is perhaps one of the most ESG compliant asset classes that exist. The underlying nature of the claim is rooted in justice, and pre-settlement advances allow for justice to prevail by leveling the playing field between the impecunious injured party and the wealthy insurer with time, money and lawyers at their disposal. The social benefits of litigation are clearly in good alignment with investing in those activities that have a positive impact on society, even if imperfect. As strong as the ESG characteristics are in the commercial legal finance markets, they are even stronger in the PSA market because the impact is measurable and directly impacts an individual’s life. All one has to do is review some of the industry testimonials to understand the impact this form of financing can have on one’s life, and there are tens of thousands of examples of this impact occurring on a yearly basis. As investors consider the headline risk, they should also give weight to the ESG benefits of the asset class. PSA Today While many facets of the PSA market look similar today to what they were at inception, underneath the exterior is a tale of two worlds. From a competitive perspective, there is a segment of the market that has clearly positioned themselves as market leaders and have achieved a level of scale and efficiency that has allowed them to tap into the most conservative and sophisticated levels of capital, in part due to an overall low risk profile and in part due to being strong operators. From a regulatory perspective, this industry will likely be regulated at the state level and that regulation is well underway. I would expect by the end of this decade a majority of states will have some form of regulation or guidance in place and by the end of next decade most, if not all, will. From a competitive perspective, we are now seeing some level of consolidation as some of the larger players are starting to acquire competitors either to bulk up their own operations or to expand into adjacent markets like medical receivables/liens. Regulatory standards will force all market participants to behave appropriately and will generally raise the standards in the market for the benefit of funders and consumers. From a funding perspective, we will continue to see larger funders tap the securitization market for relatively inexpensive financing, or to align themselves with captive sources of financing from institutional investors. In other words, as much as the industry has changed in the last two decades, we should expect to see a similar level of change going forward, but we should never lose sight of the end consumer and the benefits it brings to their lives. After all, someone needs to counter the vast resources of the insurance companies, which left unchecked, will silently inflict damage upon individuals and their families. Slingshot Insights I have often wondered why institutional investors quickly dismissed the consumer legal finance asset class solely due to headline and regulatory risk. I came to the conclusion that the benefits of diversification are significant in legal finance, and so this factor alone makes consumer legal finance very attractive. Digging beneath the surface you will find an industry that is predicated on social justice (hence, strong ESG characteristics), and while there has and continues to be some bad actors in the industry, there has been a clear bifurcation in the market with the ‘best-in-class’ performers having achieved a level of sophistication and size that has garnered interest from institutional capital as evidenced by the large number of securitizations that have taken place over the last few years (7 by US Claims alone). This market has yet to experience significant consolidation, and recent interest rate increases have likely had a negative impact on smaller funders’ earnings and cashflow, which may present an impetus to accelerate consolidation in the sector. As always, I welcome your comments and counter-points to those raised in this article. Edward Truant is the founder of Slingshot Capital Inc. and an investor in the consumer and commercial legal finance industry. Slingshot Capital inc. is involved in the origination and design of unique opportunities in legal finance markets, globally, investing with and alongside institutional investors. Disclosure: An entity controlled by the author is an investor in the consumer legal finance sector.
When people talk about third party litigation financing, they often lump everything into one bucket—as if every type of funding that touches the legal system is essentially the same. But that’s a misconception. The world of legal finance is much more varied, and each type serves a distinct role for a distinct audience.
A good way to understand the differences is to step away from the courtroom and into the world of music. Think of Consumer Legal Funding as a rock band, Commercial Litigation Financing as a symphony orchestra, and Attorney Portfolio Financing as a gospel choir.
All three make music—they all provide funding connected to the legal system—but they produce very different sounds, are organized differently, and serve different purposes. Let’s explore these three “musical groups” of legal funding to understand how they work, why they exist, and what separates them.
Consumer Legal Funding: The Rock Band
Immediate, Personal, and Audience-Driven
A rock band connects directly with its fans. The music is raw, emotional, and often tied to the lived experiences of ordinary people. That’s exactly what Consumer Legal Funding does—it provides individuals with direct financial support while they are waiting for their personal injury cases to resolve.
Most people who seek consumer legal funding have been in a car accident, or experienced some other harm caused by negligence. While their cases work their way through the legal system, they still need to pay rent, buy groceries, keep the lights on, and support their families. Consumer Legal Funding steps in to help them cover these day-to-day expenses.
Like a rock band that thrives on the energy of a crowd, Consumer Legal Funding is closely tied to the needs of everyday people. It’s not about abstract legal theories or corporate strategy. It’s about giving real people financial breathing room so they can withstand the pressure from insurers who might otherwise push them to settle for less than they deserve.
Flexibility and Accessibility
Just as a rock band doesn’t require a massive concert hall or multimillion-dollar backing, Consumer Legal Funding is accessible on a small, personal scale. A consumer can request a few hundred or a few thousand dollars to cover immediate needs, and repayment is contingent on the case outcome. If the plaintiff loses, they owe nothing.
This non-recourse structure mirrors the risk of a rock band going on tour—they might make money, or they might not, but the fans are there for the experience. Similarly, Consumer Legal Funding companies take the risk that the case might not succeed, and they may not get their investment back.
Critics and Misconceptions
Rock bands often face criticism for being too loud, too disruptive, or too unconventional compared to “serious” classical music. Consumer Legal Funding gets similar pushback. Critics sometimes argue it encourages frivolous lawsuits or drives up settlement costs. But the reality is the opposite—the funds provided to a consumer doesn’t fund lawsuits; they fund life necessities for individuals already in the legal system.
Consumer Legal Funding’s role is narrow but vital. Like a rock band giving a voice to ordinary people, it empowers individuals who might otherwise be silenced by financial hardship.
Commercial Litigation Financing: The Symphony Orchestra
Complex, Structured, and High-Stakes
Where Consumer Legal Funding is the rock band of the legal funding world, Commercial Litigation Financing is the full symphony orchestra—large, complex, and meticulously coordinated.
Here, the players are not individuals injured in accidents but corporations, investors, and law firms involved in high-value commercial disputes. These cases can involve intellectual property battles, antitrust issues, international contract disputes, or shareholder actions. The stakes often run into the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
Like an orchestra, Commercial Litigation Financing is structured and multi-layered. Each section—strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion—must work together under the baton of a conductor. In litigation finance, this “conductor” is the funding company, aligning investors, lawyers, and plaintiffs toward a common goal: seeing the case through to resolution.
Strategic and Long-Term
Orchestras don’t play three-minute songs; they perform long symphonies that require endurance, precision, and careful planning. Similarly, Commercial Litigation Financing is not about immediate cash flow. It’s about supporting a complex legal strategy over years of litigation.
Funds can cover attorney fees, expert witnesses, discovery costs, and even corporate operations while a case drags on. The financing enables companies to pursue claims they might otherwise abandon because of the sheer cost and duration of litigation.
Audience and Impact
The audience for an orchestra is often more formal, more elite, and more willing to pay for a grand performance. Commercial Litigation Financing likewise serves a specialized, high-stakes audience: multinational corporations, hedge funds, and sophisticated investors. The outcomes affect entire industries and markets, not just individual households.
While a rock band might play in bars or stadiums, an orchestra plays in concert halls before an audience expecting refinement. That’s the difference in scale between Consumer Legal Funding and Commercial Litigation Financing.
Attorney Portfolio Financing: The Gospel Choir
Collective Strength and Community
If Consumer Legal Funding is a rock band and Commercial Litigation Financing is a symphony orchestra, then Attorney Portfolio Financing is a gospel choir. It’s powerful, collective, and rooted in the idea of strength in numbers.
Attorney Portfolio Financing provides capital to law firms by pooling together multiple cases—often personal injury or contingency fee cases—into one financing arrangement. Instead of betting on a single case, the funding spreads across a portfolio, much like the voices of a choir blend to create a unified sound.
Stability and Predictability
A gospel choir doesn’t rely on one soloist to carry the performance. If one voice falters, the rest keep singing. Similarly, portfolio financing reduces risk because the outcome of any one case doesn’t determine the success of the financing. The strength lies in the collective performance of many cases.
This allows law firms to take on more clients, expand their practices, and better withstand the financial ups and downs of litigation. For clients, it means their attorneys have the resources to see their cases through rather than being pressured into quick settlements.
Purpose and Spirit
Gospel choirs aren’t just about music—they’re about inspiration, resilience, and community. Attorney Portfolio Financing carries a similar spirit. It’s designed not only to provide financial stability for law firms but also to empower them to serve clients more effectively.
While the audience for a gospel choir is often the community itself, the “audience” for portfolio financing is law firms and, indirectly, the clients who benefit from better-resourced representation.
Comparing the Three Sounds
To appreciate the differences, let’s put the three side by side:
Type of Funding
Musical Analogy
Audience
Scale
Purpose
Consumer Legal Funding
Rock Band
Individuals waiting for case resolution
Small-scale, personal
Helps consumers cover living expenses while awaiting settlement
Commercial Litigation Financing
Symphony Orchestra
Corporations, investors, large law firms
Large-scale, complex
Funds high-stakes commercial disputes over years
Attorney Portfolio Financing
Gospel Choir
Law firms (and indirectly their clients)
Medium-to-large scale
Provides stability by funding multiple cases at once
Why These Distinctions Matter
Understanding these distinctions isn’t just an academic exercise—it has real implications for policy, regulation, and public perception. Too often, critics conflate Consumer Legal Funding with Commercial Litigation Financing or assume Attorney Portfolio Financing operates the same way as individual case advances.
But regulating a rock band as if it were an orchestra—or treating a gospel choir as if it were a solo act—would miss the point entirely. Each type of legal funding has its own purpose, structure, and audience.
Consumer Legal Funding keeps people afloat in times of crisis.
Commercial Litigation Financing enables corporations to fight complex battles on equal footing.
Attorney Portfolio Financing stabilizes law firms and expands access to justice.
All three are part of the broader “music” of legal finance, but they are distinct genres with distinct contributions.
Conclusion: Harmony Through Diversity
Music would be dull if every performance sounded the same. The same is true for legal finance. A rock band, a symphony orchestra, and a gospel choir all create music, but their sounds, audiences, and purposes differ dramatically.
Similarly, Consumer Legal Funding, Commercial Litigation Financing, and Attorney Portfolio Financing are all forms of legal finance, but each plays a unique role. Recognizing these differences is crucial for policymakers, industry professionals, and the public.
When we appreciate the rock band, the orchestra, and the choir for what they are, we begin to see the full richness of the legal finance “soundtrack.” Together, they form a diverse ecosystem that, when balanced correctly, ensures both individuals and institutions can pursue justice without being silenced by financial pressure.
Express Legal Funding announced it has reached its fifth year as a member of the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding (ARC), underscoring a commitment to best practices in an often-polarized pre-settlement space. For a company that brands itself around transparent pricing and consumer education, the ARC imprimatur doubles as a marketing and compliance asset—especially as statehouses revisit disclosure, APR caps and contract clarity.
An announcement in PR Newswire positions the milestone within a “rapidly growing” lawsuit-cash-advance market. While the release is light on metrics, the message tracks with the broader U.S. consumer-funding narrative: pressure from insurers and tort-reform groups on one side; advocates and funders emphasizing access to liquidity and non-recourse safety on the other.
For plaintiff firms, vendor due diligence remains a reputational imperative; for consumers, independent accreditation—however voluntary—can serve as a quick proxy for baseline standards when shopping funding offers. The strategic subtext is clear: as more states contemplate rules around discoverability, disclosures and rate structures, firms that can point to consistent adherence to codes like ARC’s may enjoy smoother law-firm relationships and fewer regulatory headwinds.
With regulatory skirmishes likely to continue at the state level, recurring membership signals (ARC or otherwise) will matter more.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article stated that Express Legal Funding reached its fifth consecutive year as a member of the Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding. Express Legal Funding reached its fifth year, but not consecutively. We regret the error.
High Rise Financial has added industry veteran Karyn Cerulli as Regional Vice President of Sales, deepening the Los-Angeles-based funder’s reach into the personal-injury bar. Cerulli spent more than a decade with FindLaw and Thomson Reuters, where she partnered with firms on digital marketing and business-development strategies. In her new role she pivots from lead generation to liquidity, positioning High Rise’s non-recourse advances as a client-care tool for plaintiffs’ firms facing lengthy litigation timelines.
A post on LinkedIn sets out Cerulli’s agenda: hands-on attorney support, a “best rate guarantee,” and white-glove service that places “zero pressure” on case strategy while delivering cash within days. Cerulli frames High Rise as a complement rather than a competitor to existing funders, inviting firms to keep her on standby as a “second option” or safety net when primary partners stall or pricing shifts.
The move comes amid rapid growth for High Rise, which secured a $100 million senior credit facility late last year to expand its pre-settlement portfolio and medical-lien program. The funder touts 24-hour approvals, no credit checks, and repayment only from a successful resolution—features that resonate with Cerulli’s long-time focus on consumer-friendly legal services. With her network of plaintiff-side marketers and case managers, the company hopes to accelerate origination across high-volume auto and premises claims.
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