Bairs Foundation
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| 501(c)(3) Not-for-Profit | |
| Industry |
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| Founded | January 2016 |
| Founders | John Bair, Amy Bair |
| Headquarters | Buffalo , United States |
Area served | National |
Key people |
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| Website | http://www.bairsfoundation.org/ |
Bairs Foundation is a not-for-profit organization in the United States that loans money to plaintiffs while they are going through litigation. Legal financing|Lawsuit lending provides funds to people who need help covering immediate living or medical expenses during litigation. They do not provide funding for law firms, lawyers, or individual cases. Due to the nature of a not-for-profit, Bairs provides non-recourse advances with low and simple interest rates.[1]
The Bairs Foundation was co-founded in January 2016 by John and Amy Bair.[2] The foundation’s board members include Joel Feroleto, Esq., Chris Keller, Ashleigh Then, and John Richmond, Esq. The foundation is overseen by Executive Director Rachel Mathews, who joined in March 2017.
John Bair, co-founder, received the Paul H. Chapman Award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice in August of 2019.[3]
The foundation is largely donation-based. They operate by charging a nominal application fee and any interest collected goes back into the pool of funds for further loans. The Bairs Foundation is recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization, publicly supported organization as of April 2018. Bairs is licensed to operate in all 50 states.
Since the foundation’s inception, they claim to have funded nearly 300 plaintiffs and their families, and loaning those plaintiffs almost $2.2 million. Bairs claim to have a 99.9% repayment rate and lends to plaintiffs at an annual simple interest rate, thus allowing plaintiffs to avoid predatory lenders and spending their settlements on interest fees.[4] They provide advances that allow plaintiffs follow through with their lawsuit. It is typical for a plaintiff to be going up against deep-pocket defendants such as corporations or pharmaceutical companies. The defendant can spend tons of money on the lawsuit, and the longer it draws out the harder it might become on the plaintiff and their family. An injured person might decide to drop the lawsuit altogether, or to settle and “take whatever they can get”. But by helping them bridge a financial gap, the Bairs Foundation enable them to see their lawsuit through to its end.[5]
References
- ↑ Canfield, Michael (May 28, 2018). "BLJ: Strapped plaintiffs seek options". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ McClure, Allison; ContributorWriter; Volunteer, Wildlife Rehabilitation (2018-01-12). "This Foundation is Changing the Model of Lending for Plaintiffs". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has generic name (help) - ↑ "| John Bair Named Among 2019 Paul H. Chapman Award Winners". Milestone Legal Examiner. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
- ↑ "How Litigation Funding Can Save, And Doom, Poor Plaintiffs - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
- ↑ "Tragedy Does not Discriminate". Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. Retrieved 2019-12-09.