July 28, 2026
Your Lawyer’s Role, Responsibilities, and Protections Explained in Plain Language
Kansas’ Transparency in Consumer Legal Funding Act (HB 2518), effective July 1, 2026, includes several consumer protections designed to ensure legal funding remains transparent, fair, and free from outside influence. One of the most important safeguards is the requirement that attorneys be involved in the funding process.
By requiring attorney review and acknowledgment, Kansas helps ensure that plaintiffs understand their funding agreements and that legal decisions remain focused on the client’s best interests.
Here’s what that means for you.
1. Your Attorney Must Review the Funding Agreement With You
Before a legal funding transaction can move forward, Kansas requires attorney involvement.
Your attorney must review the agreement and help ensure that you understand the key terms before signing.
Your Attorney Should Explain:
- The amount of funding you will receive.
- Any fees or charges associated with the agreement.
- The maximum repayment amount.
- Your 10-day cancellation (rescission) rights.
- The non-recourse nature of legal funding.
- How repayment works if your case settles.
This requirement helps ensure that consumers don’t sign agreements they don’t fully understand.
Why This Matters
Your attorney is familiar with your case and can help identify important provisions that may affect your future settlement proceeds.
2. Your Attorney Must Sign an Attorney Acknowledgment
Kansas law requires a formal Attorney Acknowledgment as part of the legal funding process.
This document serves as confirmation that the attorney has reviewed the agreement and understands their responsibilities under the statute.
By Signing the Acknowledgment, the Attorney Typically Confirms:
- The agreement was reviewed with the client.
- The terms were explained.
- Repayment will come from settlement proceeds if there is a recovery.
- Settlement funds will be handled through the attorney’s trust account.
- The attorney has no financial interest in the funding agreement.
- The attorney did not receive a referral fee.
- The attorney will maintain independent professional judgment.
- The funding company will not influence case strategy.
This acknowledgment helps create transparency and protects clients from conflicts of interest.
3. Attorneys Cannot Receive Referral Fees or Incentives
One of the strongest protections included in HB 2518 is the prohibition on attorney compensation for referrals.
Attorneys Cannot Accept:
- Referral fees.
- Commissions.
- Gifts.
- Kickbacks.
- Marketing incentives.
- Anything of value tied to a funding referral.
This rule ensures that attorneys recommend or discuss legal funding based solely on the client’s needs rather than personal financial benefit.
Why This Matters
Consumers can feel more confident knowing their attorney’s recommendations are not influenced by financial arrangements with funding companies.
4. Your Attorney Must Protect Your Case Strategy
Kansas law makes it clear that legal funding companies are not permitted to influence litigation decisions.
Your attorney remains fully responsible for how the case is handled.
Funding Companies Cannot Influence:
- Settlement decisions.
- Settlement timing.
- Negotiation strategies.
- Medical treatment plans.
- Case valuation.
- Attorney-client communications.
- Trial strategy.
Your lawyer’s duty is to you, not the funding company.
Why This Matters
The attorney-client relationship remains independent, confidential, and focused on your best interests throughout the case.
5. Your Attorney Helps Handle Repayment at Settlement
If your case settles or results in a recovery, your attorney typically helps coordinate repayment according to the funding agreement.
During Settlement, Your Attorney May:
- Request an updated payoff statement from the funding company.
- Review repayment information.
- Verify settlement deductions.
- Distribute funds through the trust account.
- Provide a final settlement statement showing all deductions.
This process helps ensure accuracy and transparency when settlement proceeds are distributed.
Why This Matters
Having an attorney involved helps protect consumers from misunderstandings and ensures that settlement distributions are properly documented.
6. Your Attorney Cannot Pressure You to Obtain Funding
Legal funding is your decision.
Kansas law protects consumers from being pressured into funding arrangements.
Your Attorney Cannot:
- Force you to apply for funding.
- Require funding as a condition of representation.
- Pressure you to use a particular company.
- Prevent you from exploring other providers.
The Choice Belongs to You
You have the right to:
- Compare funding companies.
- Ask questions.
- Review multiple offers.
- Decide not to pursue funding at all.
Your attorney may help explain the process, but the final decision is yours.
7. Your Attorney Can Explain the Contract, But Cannot Act as Your Financial Advisor
Attorneys play an important educational role during the funding process.
Your Attorney Can Explain:
- How legal funding works.
- The terms of the agreement.
- The repayment structure.
- The impact funding may have on settlement proceeds.
- The responsibilities outlined in the contract.
However, Attorneys Generally Do Not Serve As:
- Tax advisors.
- Investment advisors.
- Financial planners.
- Personal finance consultants.
If you have specific tax or financial planning questions, you may need to consult an appropriate professional.
Why This Matters
Kansas law seeks to keep attorney involvement focused on legal representation while avoiding conflicts with financial advisory services.
8. Your Attorney Must Protect Your Privacy
Legal funding companies often need certain information about your case during underwriting.
However, your attorney remains responsible for protecting confidential information and sharing only what is necessary.
Information May Include:
- Case status updates.
- Medical records.
- Medical bills.
- Accident reports.
- Insurance information.
- Settlement information, when appropriate.
Why This Matters
Consumers should be confident that sensitive personal and case-related information is handled carefully throughout the funding process.
How Attorney Involvement Benefits Consumers
Attorney participation is one of the most important consumer protections included in Kansas’ legal funding law.
It Helps Ensure:
- Contracts are reviewed before signing.
- Funding terms are explained clearly.
- Conflicts of interest are avoided.
- Settlement decisions remain independent.
- Repayment is managed properly.
- Consumer privacy is protected.
- Funding companies stay in their proper role.
The goal is to create a legal funding process that is transparent, ethical, and focused on the consumer’s best interests.
Bottom Line
Under Kansas’ Transparency in Consumer Legal Funding Act (HB 2518), attorneys play a critical role in protecting consumers during the legal funding process. They must review agreements, explain key terms, sign required acknowledgments, maintain professional independence, protect confidential information, and help coordinate repayment at settlement.
Attorney Involvement Helps Ensure That:
- You understand the agreement.
- Your rights are protected.
- Your attorney remains independent.
- No conflicts of interest exist.
- Your settlement remains under your control.
- Your personal information stays protected.
For Kansas plaintiffs, attorney involvement is one of the strongest safeguards built into the state’s legal funding system, helping ensure that funding decisions are made with transparency, fairness, and the client’s best interests in mind.