By Jennifer Pritchett, Associate Editor

In a move that aims to position Easy Legal Finance Inc. for long-term growth in new markets within Canada, the legal financing firm has acquired Edmonton-based Rhino Legal Finance Inc.

“This acquisition enhances Easy Legal’s position as one of Canada’s leading legal financing firms within the personal injury sector, says Larry Herscu, president and CEO of Easy Legal Finance Inc.

Herscu says Rhino Finance Inc., established in 2003, pioneered the business of settlement lending to clients involved in personal injury claims.

“We are pleased to be adding a firm of this quality to The Easy Legal Finance Group of Companies,” he says in a press release on its website.

“This acquisition significantly enhances our position as a leader of financial solutions, servicing the personal injury sector. It demonstrates our commitment to growth and the ability to support a larger number of legal representatives with a broader product offering, delivered through two trusted brands.”

Herscu says the acquisition will mean the expansion of the number of legal representatives Easy Legal works with from 200 to more than 450.

“We will be introducing lending solutions more broadly to clients, legal representatives and markets that are currently unfamiliar/not engaged with the (Rhino Finance Inc.) brand (eg. treatment loans, assessment financing, disbursement loans),” he says.

Herscu says the “Easy Legal Group of Companies will maintain its mission and remain dedicated to helping those who have been hurt and are in need of financial support while waiting for the compensation they deserve, in partnership with the plaintiff bar and its service providers.”

Easy Legal Finance’s lending solutions serve the personal injury sector including plaintiffs with pending injury claims, their legal representatives and the service providers involved in their cases. The firm is registered to conduct business in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and the Atlantic provinces.