APPELLATE FUNDING CONVERTS MONEY JUDGMENTS ON APPEAL INTO IMMEDIATE CASH FOR PLAINTIFFS AND ATTORNEYS
OCTOBER 17, 2011 – SAN FRANCISCO — Michael Blum, a pioneer in the litigation funding business, announced the formation of Appeal Funding Partners, LLC (http://www.appealfundingpartners.com) to provide cash to mitigate the risk incurred by plaintiffs and their attorneys with money judgments on appeal, and to lessen the financial strain during the appeal process.
Appellate funding mitigates risk, while the appeal is pending and before the appellate decision is reached. Appeal finance is non-recourse financing to the trial attorneys and plaintiffs, who have a money judgment on appeal. If the case is ultimately won, everyone wins. If the case is eventually lost, plaintiff and attorney keep every dollar advanced, and owe Appeal Funding Partners nothing.
Appellate financing is a cash advance. It is not a loan. It is a non-recourse investment. So no interest is ever charged, and no monthly payments ever made. There are no personal guarantees, mortgage liens, wage liens, and no liens on bank accounts.
“Our civil justice system works best when financial pressures are removed from the litigation process, allowing lawsuits and appeals to be decided solely on their merits,” said Michael Blum, CEO of Appeal Funding Partners. “An appellate advance is an immediate answer to the financial demands that often face deserving plaintiffs and their attorneys. Not only does it transfer some of the risk away from plaintiffs and attorneys, it can eliminate the financial pressure to accept an unfair offer. And it enables a plaintiff and attorney to make decisions, and defend their judgment on appeal, solely on the merits of the case.”
“One cannot expect justice if the outcome of a lawsuit depends on which party has greater financial staying power,” says Hofstra University Professor Susan Lorde Martin, “When both parties in the litigation are equally well financed and thus do battle on a level playing field, it is more likely that the case will actually be decided on its merits and not on issues of cash flow… and other monetary concerns.”
“Having the financial capacity to withstand the appeals process creates the potential for obtaining fair and more realistic settlements, said Ronald H. Rouda, Trial Attorney and former president of the California Trial Lawyers Association.
Appeal Funding Partners does not offer any legal advice or provide any legal services. Their process specifies in writing that they will not interfere in the attorney-client relationship, and will not dictate when to settle or whether or not to accept a settlement offer. “We are a passive investor, who has faith in the plaintiffs’ case,” said Blum.
“Those seeking to acquire an interest in another’s litigation don’t acquire the right to control the legal strategy or intervene in the attorney’s ability to make judgments. If the company does not involve itself in the legal strategy of the case, I would see no inherent conflict in the process.” George Kuhlman, Ethics Counsel to the American Bar Association.
About Appeal Funding Partners
Michael Blum, Founder and CEO of Appeal Funding Partners, LLC, is a trial attorney with more than 40 years of professional experience. In 1994 he founded a litigation finance company that purchased portions of money judgments on appeal and provided working capital and cost loans to law firms. Mr. Blum has served on the Board of Directors of the Marin Trial Lawyers Association and the Consumer Attorneys of California and he has been an active member of the American Association for Justice. He has also spoken and written on the financial aspects of running a contingency fee law firm.
For more information on Appeal Funding Partners, please visit http://www.appealfundingpartners.com, or call 1-866-667-1237.
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