JusticeCFO Research
CFO Briefing
Decision-useful research for the unusual cash cycle of contingency law.
We separate official industry evidence from JusticeCFO’s operating interpretation. Every quantitative claim carries a source, date, and scope note.
Portfolio concentration
De-risking the “Lumpiness Index”
A management framework for seeing how much of the next 12 months depends on a small number of uncertain case outcomes.
Top-case share
The portion of probability-weighted fees concentrated in the firm’s largest projected outcomes
Capital velocity
Capital velocity: why settlement speed can outweigh gross verdict size
A practical framework for comparing the return, timing, and liquidity burden of a contingency portfolio—not its headlines.
Fees ÷ capital
A starting ratio for evaluating capital efficiency, always paired with duration and loss experience
Settlement velocity
Case duration is a capital variable, not just a legal milestone
Official federal court data shows why timing assumptions belong in every plaintiff firm's liquidity model.
15.6 months
Median filing-to-disposition time for U.S. district court civil cases terminated in FY 2025
Liquidity
Credit capacity is not the same thing as cash
A useful runway policy separates cash on hand, committed credit, utilization limits, and timing risk.
Financial controls
Case costs need their own auditable financial history
Tax treatment can depend on facts, agreements, and jurisdiction. Operational reporting should preserve the evidence either way.
Editorial standard
Primary government and professional sources are preferred. We disclose material limits, avoid unsupported performance claims, and link directly to the publication. JusticeCFO interpretations are educational and are not legal, tax, investment, or accounting advice.
Primary sources used in this edition