Wilmington, Delaware. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Five Delaware law firms have been awarded more than $1 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program so far, with more than 200 others in the state receiving smaller loans.

Of the 725 specific categories into which businesses receiving PPP loans were grouped, law offices received more individual loans in Delaware than all but seven, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Small Business Administration.

Maron Marvel Bradley Anderson & Tardy, Morris James and Potter Anderson & Corroon were all loaned between $2 million and $5 million, while Ashby & Geddes and Bayard each received loans of between $1 million and $2 million. Those loans were approved between April 7 and April 15.

Stuart Grant, co-founder and managing partner of legal finance company Bench Walk Advisors, said Tuesday he hadn't necessarily expected to see larger law firms around the country applying for and being granted PPP funding.

"I was shocked to find out that my biggest competition is actually the United States government making loans to law firms. And they dwarf me both in the volume of loans that they've made and the amount of those loans," Grant said. "I thought PPP was supposed to be used sort of as the last alternative, and clearly it has not been, because I saw the law firms on those lists, and I would've been happy to lend to a lot of them."

A total of 12,504 PPP loans were awarded in Delaware, more than 10,000 of which were for less than $150,000. For loans of $150,000 or more, the SBA provides a range in which each particular loan falls, rather than a specific dollar amount, with loans falling into one of five ranges, from between $150,000 and $350,000 at the lowest end to between $5 and $10 million at a maximum.

"Law firms were deemed essential in Delaware and funds have been used to support efforts to sanitize offices, purchase PPE for employees and staff, and enhance our remote work capabilities, as well as continue to cover operational expenses during unprecedented market conditions," said a statement from Morris James. "Our employees deserve all that we can do to maintain their health and safety and our clients rely on us for superior legal counsel without disruption. The PPP loan has supported our ability to accomplish both without additional adversity."

Paul A. Bradley of Maron Marvel declined to comment on specific details about his firm's loan amount or how it has been distributed but said in an email Wednesday afternoon that the funding was used to pay salaries, rent and other costs in compliance with the PPP's guidelines. SBA data showed the firm indicated 192 jobs would be retained with PPP funding.

"Our firm is a grateful recipient of PPP funds, which allowed  us to preserve nearly 200 jobs, thereby protecting our employees and ensuring that we could continue to serve our clients uninterrupted," Bradley said.

Altogether, 208 Delaware law offices were awarded a total of somewhere between $19.23 million and $48.83 million in PPP loans, with 53 falling into one of the loan categories at or above $150,000. For comparison, schools and all other education-related services in Delaware were loaned a total of between $23.05 million and $54.2 million.

At 515, full-service restaurants were given more loans than any other business category in the state, followed by miscellaneous retailers, physicians' offices, real estate and brokerage offices, miscellaneous personal services, religious organizations and limited-service restaurants, then legal offices.

Grant said small firms with a handful of attorneys might not be large enough for private financiers to cover but that PPP has also generated more business for Bench Walk Advisors.

"There have been other firms who have actually come to us and said, 'Look, we don't want to take government loans; we don't think we should or we don't qualify. We don't want the baggage that goes with it,'" Grant said, adding he'll be interested to see if firms repay PPP loans or if they'll ask for loan forgiveness.

Attorneys with Potter Anderson declined to comment on the specific size of the loan the firm received or how it is being used.