Key Takeaways
- Law firms with active client billings owned by L-1 holders qualify for Bankable funding
- Associate hiring, office buildout, and case expense working capital all eligible
- Immigration law, corporate law, and IP law firms serving L-1 communities are particularly relevant
- SBA closed to L-1 holders — Bankable funds legal businesses on billing revenue
- Decisions in 48 hours, $50K to $3M
The intersection of immigration law practice and L-1 visa holders is particularly layered. Many L-1 holders are clients of the very immigration attorneys who advise them on their visa status — and some eventually become attorneys themselves, passing the bar and establishing immigration law practices that serve their own community. But immigration law is one of many practice areas where L-1 attorney-owners operate: corporate law, intellectual property, employment law, and international business law all attract L-1 holders with relevant cross-jurisdictional expertise.
Law firm revenue is somewhat unusual in lending: contingency fee practices have delayed revenue; hourly-billed practices have regular billing; flat-fee practices have predictable per-client revenue. Bankable evaluates all three models and can structure appropriate capital for each practice type. An immigration law firm with 200 active clients generating $50K/month in filing fees, attorney fees, and consultation revenue is an excellent Bankable profile.
Legal Services Capital for L-1 Holders
- Associate attorney hiring: Adding licensed associates — $70K-$120K base plus benefits — requires working capital before their billings mature to cover the cost
- Office buildout: Professional office space for client consultations — furniture, conference room, reception, and legal library
- Case expenses and filing fees: Court filing fees, expert witness deposits, and discovery costs that are billed to clients but paid upfront
- Practice management software: Clio, MyCase, or Practice Panther for billing, time tracking, and matter management
- Marketing and client development: SEO, Google Ads, and bar association marketing for client acquisition
Check your Bankability Score or call (786) 443-5511.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, subject to state bar rules on non-attorney ownership. In most states, lawyers own their own law firms and Bankable funds these businesses based on billing revenue. No green card required.
Hourly billing revenue, flat fee collections, retainer deposits (when earned), contingency fee disbursements, and consulting project fees all qualify. We evaluate collected revenue, not billed-but-uncollected amounts.
Yes. Immigration law firms serving L-1, H-1B, O-1, and employment-based green card clients have a natural and growing client base. This practice area generates flat fee and hourly billing revenue that qualifies well.
Contingency fee practices have uncertain and delayed revenue that is harder to underwrite. Practices with a mix of contingency and hourly/retainer billing are evaluated on the certain revenue component first, with contingency cases treated as upside.
Yes. Advancing case costs — filing fees, expert witness fees, deposition costs — that are billed back to clients at case conclusion is a working capital use case that Bankable addresses with revolving credit lines.
Client trust account funds are not law firm revenue and are not evaluated as qualifying income. Bankable evaluates earned fee revenue deposited into the firm's operating account only.
Legal document preparation, legal research services, and legal technology companies owned by L-1 holders qualify as non-attorney legal service businesses. These qualify on their own revenue profiles.
Law firms generating $20K or more per month in collected fees ($240K annually) qualify for initial review. Minimum 6 months of documented billing history.