Can I get a cash advance on my lawsuit in Wisconsin, and what does Wisconsin law say?

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

The disclosure rule: 2017 Wisconsin Act 235

2017 Wisconsin Act 235 began as 2017 Assembly Bill 773. It was enacted April 3, 2018 and published April 4, 2018. Section 12 of the act created a paragraph titled “Third party agreements,” now Wis. Stat. 804.01(2)(bg), which reads:

“Except as otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a party shall, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties any agreement under which any person, other than an attorney permitted to charge a contingent fee representing a party, has a right to receive compensation that is contingent on and sourced from any proceeds of the civil action, by settlement, judgment, or otherwise.”

The paragraph remains in the 2025 Wisconsin Statutes, with the history note “2017 a. 235.”

What the disclosure rule means for an injured person

A typical consumer advance is repaid only from what the case recovers, so it fits the paragraph’s description of a right to compensation “contingent on and sourced from” the proceeds. If you have filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin state court and signed one, expect the contract to be given to the defendant unless the parties agree otherwise or the judge orders otherwise.

The rule is narrow. It works inside a pending civil action and leaves out your own lawyer’s contingency fee agreement. It does not cap charges, require a license, give you a right to cancel, or limit what the company may do. Whether disclosure changes how the defense values a claim is discussed in does pre-settlement funding hurt my settlement. What you share with a funder about your case raises separate questions, covered in lawsuit funding and attorney-client privilege.

Wisconsin’s licensed lender law

Wisconsin regulates consumer lenders that charge more than 18 percent. Under Wis. Stat. 138.09, the business that needs a license includes making “a consumer loan that has a finance charge in excess of 18 percent per year,” and a person must “first obtain a license from the division” before doing that business. Once licensed, a lender’s loans made after October 31, 1984 are “not subject to any maximum interest rate limit” (section 138.09(7)(bp)). “Division” here means the division of banking, part of the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

Whether a nonrecourse lawsuit advance is a “consumer loan” for this purpose is the question that decides whether 138.09 applies. We found no Wisconsin court decision and no DFI ruling answering it. Other states’ courts have divided, as explained in is a lawsuit cash advance a loan.

Champerty in Wisconsin

Wisconsin courts have treated champerty as a defense to enforcing a contract. In Wallach v. Rabinowitz, 185 Wis. 115 (1924), the Wisconsin Supreme Court said that if an assignment is champertous, “it constitutes a defense to the action,” and sent the case back for findings on good faith.

The Court of Appeals applied the doctrine more recently in Gertsch v. International Equity Research, 158 Wis. 2d 559 (Ct. App. 1990). It used the definition of champerty as maintaining a suit “in consideration of some bargain to have part of the thing in dispute, or some profit out of it,” and held that an heir finder’s 40 percent assignment was not champertous because “Without a ‘suit’ or ‘litigation,’ there can be no champerty.” A dissent would have found it champertous. A funding contract signed during a pending injury case does involve litigation, but we found no Wisconsin appellate decision applying champerty to a consumer advance.

Your filing deadline in Wisconsin

Wis. Stat. 893.54(1m)(a) requires “An action to recover damages for injuries to the person,” including injuries from a motor vehicle accident, to be started within 3 years. Other deadlines can apply to some claims, so check yours early. An advance does not extend the deadline.

What to ask before you sign

• Is the company licensed by DFI? You can search the DFI licensee list.
• Is the contract written knowing it will be given to the other side, and does it contain anything you would not want the defense to read?
• What will you owe at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months, in dollars?
• Does your lawyer need to sign it, and what is the lawyer agreeing to? See does my lawyer have to sign a funding contract.

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.