Law Firm Loans and Financing

Law firm loans: what we finance

• Partner buy-in and buyout

  Fund an associate's move to equity partner or buy out a retiring or departing partner, sized on the firm's earnings after draws.

  Partner buy-in financing

• Acquiring a practice

  Buy another firm or a retiring lawyer's practice, with the transition of clients and staff built into the plan.

  SBA 7(a) loans

• Office expansion and build-out

  Fit out, relocate or open a second office, with the build-out, furniture and technology in one request.

• Lateral hires

  Bring on an experienced attorney or a team and carry the cost until their matters produce collected fees.

• Technology

  Practice management, document management, e-discovery and security systems that add capacity.

• Working capital

  A line of credit for the gap between billing and collection on the firm's earned fees.

  Business lines of credit

SBA loans for law firms

The SBA 7(a) program allows several eligible uses in one loan, including complete or partial changes of ownership, working capital, equipment and real estate improvements. That makes it a fit for a firm buying another practice, funding a partner buy-in or opening a second office. The SBA requires the borrower to be creditworthy and show a reasonable ability to repay; the lender sets the documents and decides.

A firm with strong financials and an existing bank relationship should compare an SBA quote with a conventional term loan on the same project. SBA adds program steps; a conventional loan may ask for more equity or collateral. Neither is automatically cheaper or faster. See SBA 7(a) loans for how the program works.

Why law firm cash flow reads differently

A law firm can be profitable long before it is liquid. Work is done now, invoiced later and collected later still, so the firm carries work in progress and receivables before fees land. Partner draws add another layer: they are owner compensation that can flex, not fixed payroll. A lender who understands that looks at collections, how consistently billed work turns into deposits, and how much room the draws leave to carry a new payment.

Law firm lenders compared

Daily or weekly debits can clash with a firm's collection cycle, so compare payment frequency alongside total cost.

How the law firm financing process works

1. Intro call. Tell us the project, the budget and how the firm performs today.
2. Documents. We send a checklist: tax returns, financial statements with partner-draw detail, a debt schedule and the project budget or purchase agreement.
3. Lender matching. We take one prepared request to the SBA, bank and non-bank lenders that fit the use of funds.
4. Term sheet and close. You compare written offers side by side, choose one, and the lender completes underwriting and closing.

We explain how we get paid before you choose an offer.

Who qualifies for a law firm loan

Each lender sets its own criteria. Most look at:

• Time in practice and the firm's collections history.
• Cash flow after partner draws and existing debt.
• Personal credit of the partners or owner.
• Client concentration: a broad base of clients versus a few large matters.
• The project: budget, lease, purchase agreement or buy-in terms.

Our loan readiness checklist lists the documents lenders commonly ask for. We work with firms across New York and New Jersey.

Program summaries are not an approval or a commitment to fund. Lenders determine eligibility, amounts and terms after review.