Indeed, as a white-collar defence lawyer, you will almost inevitably have a discussion with your client about their ability to repay, their willingness to repay, and the consequences if they choose not to repay.
You're absolutely correct. It is very common for judges, if they have convicted a person, to telegraph, sometimes obliquely and sometimes not obliquely, the importance of that happening. That happens even without the threat of restitution. It happens as one of the factors already included in the code for sentencing.
To put it simply, I say to clients that if they are able to repay all or substantially all of the money they have been found to have stolen, their chances of being sentenced to jail will be substantially reduced as a result of that payment.