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As every lawyer knows, when it comes to growing one’s practice, existing clients tend to be the lowest hanging fruit. Often however, lawyers struggle to deliver a new offering that entices clients to give them more work.

Bentham has developed a brief list of questions that lawyers can utilize to determine whether litigation funding can help them increase their client wallet share:

1. How much of its litigation work is the client giving to the firm? Several tools are available to help firms easily see how much litigation their client is engaging in at any one time and the portion of that litigation that is being handled by the firm. Firms that are not handling a majority of their client’s litigation work may find considerable opportunity to grow their litigation practice without even developing new clients, provided they can convince their clients to award them more litigation work.
2. What factors are inhibiting clients from awarding the firm more litigation work? There could be multiple reasons driving a client’s decision not to award a firm more of its litigation work. Frequently, those reasons center around affordability, capability and capacity. Firms that have the capability and capacity to take on more litigation work from clients can bridge the affordability gap by offering to take cases on contingency. Some firms, however, are averse to having more than a few cases on contingency at any one time. Bentham’s portfolio funding enables firms to reduce their risk while building a contingency practice. Bentham offers to provide capital secured solely against the proceeds from a portfolio of three or more commercial litigation cases. The Bentham funding covers a portion of the hourly fees the firm would otherwise charge for such cases, thus enabling the firm to take on more contingent cases, without exposing the firm to the full risk of those cases.
3. Is the client avoiding litigation for cost reasons? Many businesses decide not to pursue meritorious claims because of the costs and risks of bringing an action. These clients are particularly good candidates for litigation funding. Firms that take the time to check in with their clients not just about the cases they’re handling, but also the ones that the client is deciding not to pursue, may find opportunities for more work. With litigation finance as an option, a client and a firm can avoid walking away from meritorious claims simply because of cost concerns.
4. Should your pitches include litigation budgets that incorporate litigation funding? Most clients expect firms to include budgets in the proposals that they make to handle the clients’ cases. While firms often include alternative fee arrangement options in proposed budgets, they may be limiting their candidacy if they fail to include litigation funding as an alternative for financing the case. Bentham IMF can work with firms to develop pitch materials that include litigation funding.