Member Article

Crowdfunding platform fuelling Pirate Joe's US trademark fight raises £2m seed round

CrowdJustice, the crowdfunding platform for legal cases, has announced it has raised £2m in seed funding as it looks to continue its US expansion drive.

The London-based tech firm, which was founded in 2015 by former United Nations lawyer Julia Salasky, has raised the capital from Venrock, First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Kindred Capital.

With a stated aim to democratise the legal system, the startup has adopted the crowdfunding model to help individuals, non-profits and others resist the financial might of large corporates and governments, giving them a means to fight legal cases that they might not normally be able to fund.

The company recently expanded to the US and will look to channel the seed funding towards further expansion of its American presence. The firm currently employs 14 people across its New York and London offices.

Following the seed round, Salasky said: “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.”

Most famously, the platform was utilised to raise cash for the Supreme Court challenge to Brexit last year, and has recently raised funds for an ongoing high-profile trademark case in the US involving food retailer Trader Joe’s.

Vancouver-based Pirate Joe’s, an independent retailer run by Canadian Mike Hallatt, is looking to raise an initial £50,000 on the platform, after the US retailer won the right to take the Canada business to court over breach of US trademark.

Hallatt has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with Trader Joe’s, which is owned by German conglomerate Aldi, due to his practice of hopping over the US-Canada border to stock up on Trader Joe’s products which he subsequently sells in his Vancouver store.

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