30 Dec Crowdfunding Site Helps Raise Legal Fees

Want to bring a case but can’t afford the lawyers? No problem. Chicago lawyer Michael Helfand has set up a crowdfunding site to help you raise money. You can find it at  https://www.fundedjustice.com/en. It can be especially true for smaller cases, like workers compensation claims, where just a few thousand might be needed to bring a case. The site is still pretty new and small, but Helfand hopes, according to the ABA Journal, to help folks seeking social justice and the like. Gelfand has already been running a successful legal referral service.

As we know, in Europe the “loser pays” system requires the unsuccessful party in a lawsuit to pay the legal fees of the winner in most cases. We don’t have that here, of course, and when you bring a case you are out your legal fees unless you have an agreement to the contrary or there’s a law that provides it (such as when you are defending a registered trademark). This means that sometimes cases just can’t be brought because of lack of funds. Some cases are based on a contingency where fees are only paid upon success, but that is generally limited to personal injury cases and some class actions.

So Helfand’s solution could be a help to those who want to bring meritorious cases but don’t have the means. But the key, as the article indicated, is to have a good story and good social network connections. So maybe you can raise crowdfunding money for the legal fees to pay lawyers to handle your crowdfunding raise for your company?