Legal-Bay, the US lender which gives advances to law firms on trial costs, says it has seen 'an increase in attorneys and small law firms applying for our attorney cash advance program'. The organisations has 'already funded several law firms within the first few days of January' and has also announced 'a major increase' in its available capital as a result of increased commitments from its own funders. It says it is unlike a traditional bank in that its main lending appraisal tool analyses the case loads of law firms rather than their credit scores. It says it operates in 50 US states but has seen 'a recent surge in applications' in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Florida and the entire Gulfport region relating to B.P. cases including Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana'. Source: Digital Journal