Can I get a cash advance on my lawsuit in Illinois?

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

The Illinois statute

The Consumer Legal Funding Act took effect May 27, 2022 (Public Act 102-987), and Public Act 103-974 amended it effective January 1, 2025 (815 ILCS 121). It covers a “consumer,” meaning a person with a pending legal claim who lives or is domiciled in Illinois. Consumer legal funding is a nonrecourse deal in which a company buys a contingent interest in the potential net proceeds of your settlement or judgment; if your case brings in nothing, you owe nothing (sec. 5).

A transaction that does not fit that definition “is subject to the Interest Act and any other applicable law” (sec. 10(e)). In other words, if repayment does not truly depend on the case, Illinois lending law can apply.

The price cap, in the statute’s words

Section 25 sets the limits:

• The fee charged to you may be “not more than 18% of the funded amount, assessed on the outset of every 6 months” (sec. 25(a)).
• A document preparation fee of up to $75 is allowed and may be taken out of the funded amount (sec. 25(b)).
• No other fees are allowed unless the Act names them (sec. 25(c)).
• “No charges may accrue on a consumer legal funding for more than 42 months after the funding date.” Each additional funding gets its own 42-month period (sec. 25(d)).

Section 20 adds that the payoff must be a predetermined amount based on time from origination to resolution and may “not be determined as a percentage of the recovery.”

Example only, with round hypothetical numbers. Suppose you receive a $10,000 funding. The cap allows up to $1,800 (18% of $10,000) at the start of each six-month period, plus a document fee of no more than $75. If your case resolves in month 20, you are in the fourth period, so charges could reach $7,200 and the payoff about $17,200 plus that fee. Because charges cannot accrue past month 42, a contract that charges the full 18% at the start of each period would stop after seven periods, or $12,600 in charges. Your contract may charge less, and its terms decide what you actually owe. For how to read a payment schedule, see how much does pre-settlement funding cost.

Contract rules and your 14 days to cancel

The contract must be fully filled in before you sign, with blanks marked “not applicable,” “n/a” or “none,” and you initial every page (sec. 10(a)). You may cancel “within 14 business days after the funding date” by returning the money, either by handing back the company’s uncashed check or by sending notice and the funds by the mail methods the statute lists (sec. 10(a)(2)). That is longer than the period in the other state funding laws we reviewed; our page on the right to cancel compares them.

Section 30 requires 12-point bold disclosures. The front page shows the funded amount, itemized charges, the most you could pay and a six-month payment schedule. The contract must say the company has no role in settlement decisions and will not interfere with your lawyer’s judgment, and above your signature it must warn, “Do not sign this contract before you read it completely.” The company must also tell you how to reach a financial coaching program by the funding date (sec. 30(6)).

Your lawyer’s acknowledgment

Your attorney must sign an acknowledgment that, to the attorney’s knowledge, the costs were disclosed, that the attorney works on a written contingency fee, that proceeds go through a trust account or settlement fund, that the attorney will follow your instructions on paying the company, and that the attorney “has not received a referral fee or other consideration” from it. Without it, “the contract shall be null and void,” though changing lawyers later does not undo a valid contract (sec. 10(b)-(c)).

Neither your lawyer nor the lawyer who referred you may hold a financial interest in the company, and a funding that breaks that rule is void (sec. 45). Talking with the funder does not “limit, waive, or abrogate” your attorney-client privilege or work-product protection (sec. 50).

What the company may not do

Section 15 bars a funder from paying or accepting referral fees with lawyers, medical providers, chiropractors or physical therapists, advertising false or misleading information, steering you to a particular lawyer or provider, failing to give your lawyer a copy of the contract on request, making decisions about your claim or settlement, and using the funding to pay court costs, filing fees or attorney’s fees. It also may not knowingly fund you when part of your claim is already assigned to another funder, unless the earlier funding is paid off (or the companies agree in writing to a lesser payoff), or several companies agree to fund you at the same time and you and your lawyer consent in writing. More on that in can you get a second lawsuit advance.

Section 40 ranks the company behind attorney’s liens, Medicare liens and other statutory liens tied to the claim. Our page on funding and medical liens explains what that means at payout.

Licensing, penalties and where to complain

Operating without a license under the Act is unlawful, and a funding by an unlicensed person is “null and void,” so no one may collect principal, fees or charges on it (sec. 55). The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issues the licenses, which require a positive net worth of at least $30,000 and a $50,000 surety bond (sec. 70). The Department can investigate complaints, suspend or revoke licenses and impose fines, generally up to $25,000 for each separate offense, with higher limits for some listed violations (secs. 100, 135). A violation of the Act is also a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, which the Attorney General can enforce (sec. 35).

• Department of Financial and Professional Regulation: use the online consumer complaint form, call 217-785-2900 about complaints, or mail IDFPR, Attn: Consumer Services, Banking / Div. of Financial Institutions, 555 W. Monroe St., 5th Fl., Chicago, IL 60661 (IDFPR complaint page).
• Attorney General: file at the complaint page or call the Chicago hotline at 1-800-386-5438 or the Spanish-language line at 1-866-310-8398 (Attorney General consumer protection).

Other Illinois rules

What an Illinois lawyer may advance

Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(e) lets a lawyer advance “court costs and expenses of litigation,” with repayment contingent on the outcome, and lets a lawyer for an indigent client pay those costs. Comment [10] says lawyers may not subsidize lawsuits, including making loans “to their clients for living expenses” (Ill. RPC 1.8).

The two-year filing deadline

Most Illinois personal injury suits must be filed within two years of when the claim arose under 735 ILCS 5/13-202 (13-202). An advance does not extend that time.

What to ask before you sign

• Is the company licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation?
• What is charged at the start of each six-month period, and is it at or under 18% of the funded amount?
• What is the date of my 14th business day to cancel?
• Has my lawyer signed the acknowledgment?
• Is there an earlier funding on my case, and how will it be handled?

Common questions

Related pages

Cash advance on a lawsuit · Laws by state · Injury law FAQs

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 7, 2026.