CrowdJustice, the crowdfunding platform for legal cases, has managed to rake in $2 million in a Seed round. It attracted the support of firms such as Venrock, First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Kindred Capital.
Founded in 2015 and based in London, it is spearheaded by former United Nations lawyer Julia Salasky, and has the important objective of democratizing access to the legal system.
According to CrowdJustice, it has helped hundreds of cases raise over $3 million in legal costs, including Supreme Court cases and a “people’s challenge” to Brexit in the UK, which won in the Supreme Court, as well as Trump’s travel ban. Salasky, CEO, commented:
It’s never been a more important time to ensure that the law can be used by anyone, large or small, to defend and protect rights, or hold the government to account
CrowdJustice ensures the engagement of qualified lawyers by having a team of experts vet each campaign. They also make sure that all funds are diverted to the lawyer’s client trust account, also disbursing any leftover money in the event that the case is settled before an exhaustion of funds. The company’s income comes from taking a small percentage of the funds raised by each successful campaign. So far, campaigns have raised up to $3.5 million in total with its assistance. Salasky added:
At CrowdJustice our goal is simple – revolutionise how legal cases are organised and funded, level the playing field and democratise access to justice. Whether that’s a David bringing a case against a Goliath, or a non-profit holding the government to account, we want to give people access to the law.
The new inflow of funds will go towards expanding CrowdJustice’s model from the UK to the US. Currently, the firm employs 14 people in offices in New York and London, including the head of content Colin Whitlow, formerly senior strategist at YouTube; and head of legal and external relations Kip Wainscott, who previously worked at the White House, helping the Obama Administration advance a number of priorities concerned with social justice.
