2026 Best Business Debt Settlement Lawyers in Virginia

Top 3 Business Debt Settlement Firms for Virginia (2026 Rankings)

UCC Lien

One of the strong advantages to a business lender in a UCC lien is that it cuts off the business’s ability to access the receivables that come in. A lien takes the money from the business before it ever gets to your bank account, where a judgment would otherwise have to be served on the bank to get at the money. A lender will mail the UCC filing to your customers it found in your bank records and your credit card processor (Square, PayPal, Stripe). They are told to pay the funder, not you. It can be embarrassing. And customers may stop doing business with you.

Lenders also go to court. In 2019, New York banned lenders from using confessions of judgment against out-of-state business owners. But that was easy to get around by suing in Illinois or Texas or Utah instead. The funders still usually sue and get judgments. In Virginia, a lender generally has five years to sue you on a signed written contract. Out-of-state judgments are enforceable here in Virginia. A judgment in Virginia lasts ten years and can be extended, with interest that accrues to the judgment amount at the rate of 6% a year, unless your contract sets higher. The more common MCA defaults are, the more often the funders go to court, to enforce those claims.

The Debt Settlement Company

Debt settlement companies will rarely mention, in their ads, the risks you take on in the lawsuit your creditor will bring against you. They promise big savings and half payments that you pay to an escrow account. You should read the fine print. They often hide the big upfront fees they will take.

Then your accounts and receivables get frozen. No progress has been made, but the debt settlement company has taken some fees. And the funders typically tack on contract fees: stop payment fees of $500-$5000; $2,500-$5,000 of other default fees. Your debt balance can be going up, because of costs and interest and NSF fees. You have little or no refund of fees paid to the settlement companies.

If you have to go to court, a settlement company cannot represent you. Only a lawyer can. That means you would need to hire a new lawyer, and the settlement company would have done nothing to prepare the case for litigation. And only a lawyer licensed to practice in your state can give legal advice.

The New Virginia Regulations over Merchant Cash Advance Companies

It helps to have a lawyer who is familiar with the new Virginia regulations over merchant cash advance companies, merchant cash advance funders and merchant cash advance brokers. In 2022, the General Assembly passed HB 1027, signed into law by the governor in April, requiring registration of lenders. They are subject to the oversight of the State Corporation Commission. The same law sets out what the funder has to disclose about their loan. It does not include the APR, but it does tell you many other facts you need to know.

The law also does away with confessions of judgment for small businesses and forbids out-of-state venue clauses. They cannot force you to arbitrate out of state. The funders can still sue you in court, but it must be here in Virginia. You may still have to deal with merchant cash advance companies, “MCA” lenders, if the advance amount was over $500,000. Or the lender may do five or fewer deals in Virginia a year and so be exempt from registration. And their registration must be renewed, and if the September 15 deadline lapses, they may be unregistered for a time.

A real MCA contract only takes a portion of your receivables, and if the business has no sales, there is no payment to the funder. But a loan must be repaid, regardless. Why does it matter? Because some MCA funders make 100% to 200% or more, which a court may find usurious if it is a loan. Take their position that the advance is a sale, a purchase of a share of your receivables, and they are OK, but that could be false for many reasons. Some contracts are poorly drafted.

The broker collects the commission when the loan closes, and does not care if you repay the funder. They are done and out of the picture when the funders start collecting on you. The broker’s incentives are to stack you with multiple loans. They lie and say the MCA loan is temporary, till you get a real loan. A lawyer can sue the broker in third-party complaints.

Most merchant cash advances have a personal guarantee clause that you signed. A personal bankruptcy by you only discharges your personal liability. The business still owes. The business bankruptcy will not erase your personal liability either, since you are personally liable, if you signed the guarantor clause in the contract or other document.

Some lawyers never do business cases. They know only the consumer bankruptcies under Chapter 7 and 13. You need a law firm that knows commercial debt, the laws that govern and your rights when facing business debts. If you are looking for a firm that handles your personal bankruptcies, make sure they do personal, family or individual Ch. 7 cases. If you need to reorganize to pay over time, be sure they do Ch. 13, and that it is experienced at them. If your business is a small business, make sure they know and do Subchapter V, for smaller cases (under $3,424,000 as of April 2025).

Don’t forget that your income taxes may be affected if you settle. Normally, the forgiven amount of debt is income to you, unless you have a bankruptcy or insolvency, or qualify under another exclusion. An exclusion like bankruptcy or insolvency is claimed on IRS Form 982.

If you hire a lawyer on a contingent fee, make sure it is in writing. It has to specify the percentage or method for determining it.

The bottom line is that settling may be right for you and terrible for another business owner, and no firm should promise that it is right for everyone, or that it works in every case. Make sure you understand the risks and that you choose a law firm that can settle, go to court, defend you, or file bankruptcy, to best protect you in the tough situations you may face.