Where we sit in the waterfall, and what happens if it runs short.

The waterfall

Settlement proceeds into the firm’s trust account. Your client has directed that we be paid from the proceeds after your legal fees and costs and before any funds are released to them. We do not ask to be paid ahead of your fee, and nothing in the agreement impairs a charging lien. Statutory liens such as Medicare and Medicaid come ahead of ours by law.

If a question comes up about the amount owed, contact us before disbursement and hold only the disputed amount until it is resolved. The rest can go out.

Shortfall

If the recovery is not sufficient to satisfy our lien in full after fees, costs and superior liens, we take what is there. Absent fraud or a breach of the agreement, the balance is not pursued against your client, and it is never pursued against the firm. That follows directly from the advance being non-recourse — it is not a concession negotiated case by case.

If a lien negotiation with a medical provider or health plan would materially improve your client’s net position and our participation helps, ask. We would rather reduce our figure than have a client net nothing from a case.

No recovery

Nothing is owed by anyone. The advance, the accrued charges and both fees are canceled. Nothing is reported to a credit bureau, nothing is sent to collections, and no deficiency is pursued.

Change of counsel

The lien follows the case, not the firm. If your client moves to another firm, the lien remains against the settlement and incoming counsel is given notice of it on the same terms. Any charging lien asserted by outgoing counsel is a matter between the two firms and is not affected by ours.

Tell us when it happens. A file we are chasing at a firm that no longer holds the case slows everything down for no reason.

Structured settlements and special needs planning

If a client’s recovery is going into a structure or a special needs trust, raise it with us before the settlement is finalized rather than at disbursement. Needs-tested benefit eligibility is a real planning issue and it is much easier to work around in advance. What we tell clients about it.

Multiple advances on one file

Each advance is priced from its own funding date and carries its own schedule. A payoff request returns each tranche separately with a combined total, so the arithmetic stays checkable. Only the $100 processing fee applies to advances after the first.