In this blog, we discuss the value of financing case disbursements in setting up your contingency fee law firm for financial success.

The Increasing Cost of Success

Running a successful law firm is often accompanied by an increasing demand on capital – as case volumes increase and cases demand more resources, so do case costs.

Since 1950, NY-based Kreindler & Kreindler has specialized in aviation disaster litigation, successfully recovering more than $20 billion for its clients. While the firm’s business grew steadily due to winning high profile aviation accident cases, like many contingency fee law firms, Kreindler & Kreindler’s partners felt the strain of paying case costs out of their own pockets – frequently supporting between $5 million and $10 million dollars in case disbursements.

Finding Value in Financing Case Costs

For years, the firm’s partners prided themselves in their ability to self-fund case expenses – something which Kreindler & Kreindler Managing Partner Noah Kushlefsky admits had blinded the partners to the value of financing case costs outside the firm. But once they investigated the possibility of case cost financing with Esquire Bank, they realized that other options existed which would allow them to free up that capital for growth.

“Esquire Bank opened our eyes to case cost lines of credit,” noted Noah Kushlefsky. “What we have started doing is borrowing on the financial outlays on cases that we know are going to be successful.”

Adopting a new view toward case cost financing, the partners of Kreindler & Kreindler were delighted by the differences they saw. Capital could now be freed up to invest in growing the business or expanding into new practice areas. Additionally, the firm no longer had to contend with strict covenants that were typically placed on the partners by traditional banks.

To learn more about how Kreindler & Kreindler changed its approach to financing case costs and set up the firm for financial success, click above to watch this video featuring Noah Kushlefsky.