CrowdJustice is a platform for crowdfunding public interest litigation which is one of the startups featuring on the Legal Geek Startup Map. They launched their operation in the United States last week by helping to raise funds for Aziz v. Trump.
The lawsuit was against the Trump administration on behalf of two brothers who were detained at the Dulles Airport in Washington DC and forced to sign papers that waived their immigration status. The brothers were then deported.
Lawyers from the Legal Aid Justice Center and Mayer Brown represented the family and obtained an injunction from a federal judge in Virginia staying the executive order. Then they successfully negotiated the brothers’ return to the United States on 6 February 2017.
Mayer Brown and the @LegalAidJustice helped reunite Yemeni families victimized by executive order on #immigration: https://t.co/jtEDVoXCwU pic.twitter.com/ZklxpfnkTc
— Mayer Brown (@Mayer_Brown) February 7, 2017
How does CrowdJustice work?
When you have a court case that would benefit from crowdfunding and affects others in your community, you can set up a Case Page on CrowdJustice and set a funding target. On the page, you will also need to explain what the case is about and why you need help funding it. Before the page goes live, you need to have a lawyer who has agreed to represent you.
The pledges get collected only when you meet the funding target. The pledges do not get collected if the funding target is not met. CrowdJustice takes 5% fee from the raised funds and pays the rest directly to the lawyer’s client account.
To find out more information about CrowdJustice and other lawtech startups, make sure to visit the Legal Geek Startup Map.