Top 11 myths of legal finance with Plenti 

For many family lawyers, the world of legal finance is a bit unclear. Though most have heard of the idea, there are quite a few myths that surround the inner workings of legal finance that may prevent lawyers from recommending these services to their clients. Plenti’s Legal Loans are different. Keep reading to get the full picture of how Plenti’s Legal Loans work, what they can cover, your role in the process and more. 

1. Legal finance can only be used to fund court proceedings

Plenti’s Legal Loans can be used for all stages of a legal matter that is in connection with a family law property settlement matter, including mediation and interim applications. Proceedings may not necessarily need to be commenced before finance from a Plenti Legal Loan can be used.  

2. Providing information to a legal finance provider is a breach of your client’s confidentiality

When your client applies for a Plenti Legal Loan, they will be required to provide us with consent to collect their information from both you and them and share their information with you. 

Plenti must comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Please refer to Plenti’s Privacy Policy which can be located on its website at https://www.plenti.com.au/privacy/. 

3. Financiers will ask for and rely on your advice as to the case’s merits

At Plenti, we do not ask for the advice you give your client in order to determine the merits of the case. Rather, we ask for the facts of the matter including (and not limited to) whether any offers have been made so we can make our own assessment based on those facts. 

4. Law firms must guarantee the debt for their clients 

Unlike other buy-now-pay-later or invoice funding arrangements, Plenti does not require law firms to provide any guarantees or undertakings in relation to their client’s loans. We conduct our own conservative assessment of the matter to understand the risks associated with financing the loan. Further, there is no cost to the firm to refer its clients to Plenti. 

5. Legal finance loans  only cover property matters

Plenti Legal Loans may be used for parenting matters as long as there is a property settlement element to the matter. We can continue to fund these matters until finalisation of the property settlement.

6. Legal finance loans can only be used for solicitor’s fees

Plenti Legal Loans can be used for most costs associated with the legal matter, such as barrister fees, valuer’s fees, court filing fees and other disbursements. 

7. You are required to continue to act during the entirety of the loan term 

Your firm is under no obligation to continue to act for your client during the course of your client’s loan term pursuant to their Plenti Legal Loan. Notwithstanding this, we strive to work together with lawyers to see the matter through to completion. 

8. Your client needs to be on title to real property to be eligible for a legal finance loan

If your client is on title to real property, they are more likely to be approved for a loan with Plenti. However, we can consider charging equitable interests as well as funds that are held in a trust account on behalf of the clients as options for security. We look at other security options on a case-by-case basis. 

9. It takes a lot of time to organise and to keep financiers updated on the matter

Depending on the complexity of the matter, we have found that many lawyers are able to complete the Plenti’s case summary form that supports their client’s Legal Loan application within 15 - 30 minutes. 

From there, you let us know of any major milestones or changes to the matter, particularly if it relates to the repayment of your client’s Plenti Legal Loan. These updates generally take a few minutes and are provided via our online portal. The time it takes for money to be available to pay firm’s invoices can vary – it can be as quick as two days if we receive all the required documentation!

10. As a family lawyer, I have to be licensed to recommend this sort of financial product to clients

Law firms who refer clients to Plenti often rely on an exemption from holding a credit licence under the National Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth). For example, the point of sale exemption means that you, as an introducer, are able to provide assistance to your clients to obtain finance from licensed credit providers certain credit products without needing to hold credit licence. 

Of course, be careful of recommending products from other funders that are not licensed themselves.

11. The financier can control the matter or have a say in the offers that are accepted

Plenti does not impose any obligations on your client to accept offers. To date, we have worked with over 470 trusted law firms around Australia that work with their clients on achieving a fair outcome. 

To find out more, book in a time with the Head of Legal Finance, Rose Dravitzki
https://calendly.com/rose-dravitzki/plenti-chat?month=2021-10
Or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://www.plenti.com.au/lawyers

For further information, please read Plenti’s Legal Loan TMD which can be found on Plenti’s website.  

*This information does not constitute financial advice and you should consider whether it is appropriate to your circumstances before you act in relation on it. Any opinion, forecasts or recommendations reflect the judgment and assumptions of Plenti as at the date of publication and may later change without notice.