Can I get pre-settlement funding without my attorney's consent?

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

Where the law needs your lawyer’s signature

California requires every funding contract to include a written acknowledgment by the attorney you retained, covering the disclosures, the contingency fee, the trust account and referral payments. Without that acknowledgment, the transaction and contract are void (Bus. & Prof. Code 6251(c)-(d)). Illinois says that if the acknowledgment “is not completed by the attorney,” the contract “shall be null and void” (815 ILCS 121/10(c)). New York’s 2026 text has the same result (A.9442, sec. 1002(B)-(C)).

In those states, a lawyer’s refusal ends that contract. The statutes make the signature a condition; none of them orders a lawyer to sign. Other states with similar rules are collected on our page asking does my lawyer have to sign a funding contract.

Where there is no funding statute, nothing in state law requires the lawyer’s signature, but the deal still runs through the lawyer in practice. A funder needs case information to decide, and it expects to be paid out of the settlement money that lands in your lawyer’s trust account. In the Avraham and Sebok study of one large funder, “lawyers’ experiences” with funding were “correlated with the likelihood that their clients will have their cases approved” (104 Cornell L. Rev. 1133, 1171 (2019)).

What your lawyer owes you when funding comes up

The ethics rules leave the big decisions about your case with you. California’s Rule 1.2(a) says “a lawyer shall abide by a client’s decision whether to settle a matter” (California Rules of Professional Conduct). The State Bar of California’s Formal Opinion 2020-204 applies the duties of competence and communication to funding:

• the lawyer “must understand how the terms of the funding agreement impact decisions in the litigation”
• a lawyer asked for advice on the agreement must have the knowledge, obtain it, or decline to give that advice
• before giving a funder any confidential information, the lawyer must explain the risks of disclosure and get your informed consent
• “there is nothing unethical about a lawyer recommending a client consider litigation funding,” and a lawyer may provide information and introductions

So a lawyer can tell you plainly that a deal looks costly, and can decline to advise on a contract the lawyer does not understand. What the lawyer should not do is leave you without an answer or an explanation.

Why a lawyer may say no

Lawyers refuse for different reasons, and knowing which one applies tells you what, if anything, can change.

• The price. The payoff comes out of your share, and the lawyer may think the charges will take too much of it. Our cost page shows how charges grow.
• The acknowledgment does not fit the facts. The lawyer has to confirm things such as the contingency fee and the trust account arrangement, and will not sign a statement that is not accurate.
• Confidentiality. Sharing the file can put privilege at risk. California bars sharing privileged information with a funder without your written consent (section 6256(c)); see funding and attorney-client privilege.
• A conflict. California bars your lawyer and the lawyer’s immediate family from holding a financial interest in a funding company (section 6256(a)), and Formal Opinion 2020-204 says an existing relationship with a funder must be disclosed and may need your informed written consent.
• The claim cannot be funded. In California, for example, a workers’ compensation claim “is not assignable before payment” (Cal. Lab. Code 4900).
• Time. A careful review of the disclosures takes work, and a lawyer in trial may not get to it quickly. See how long funding takes.

Why the lawyer usually cannot lend you the money instead

Rules modeled on Rule 1.8 limit what a lawyer may give a client. California Rule 1.8.5(a) bars a lawyer from paying a client’s personal expenses; one exception allows a loan after the lawyer is retained, “based on the client’s written promise to repay the loan,” if the lawyer first meets the conflict and business-transaction rules. Washington RPC 1.8(e) allows only litigation expenses, and its Comment [10] says lawyers may not make or back loans to clients for living expenses (Washington RPC 1.8). California’s funding statute also bars your retained lawyer from providing consumer legal funding directly (section 6256(a)). Other states’ rules are on our page can my lawyer give me money before settlement.

What you can do

1. Ask for the reason, and ask whether it is about this contract or about funding in general.
2. If the concern is the price or a clause, ask whether a smaller amount or different terms would change the answer.
3. Ask a second lawyer for an opinion. A consultation does not end your current representation.
4. Look at the alternatives to pre-settlement funding, some of which need no lawyer’s signature.
5. If you believe your lawyer has an undisclosed tie to a funder, you can raise it with your state bar.

Changing lawyers is your right, but think it through. In California a funder may not condition funding on your replacing your lawyer with one the funder recommends (section 6254(a)), and a contract stays enforceable if you later discharge the lawyer who signed the acknowledgment (section 6251(e)). Your first lawyer may still claim a fee for work done, depending on your fee agreement and state law.

Common questions

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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.