Fundraising for Legal Cases on Laymans
Money shouldn't be a barrier to access to justice.
Legal representation is expensive - the median cost for a single legal service is around $5,000, and complex cases can run to $20,000 or more. Most people can't afford that out of pocket. Traditional legal aid has limited resources. Small claims court has caps. Public defenders are overworked. That's where Laymans comes in.
Whether you're fighting wrongful eviction, disputing a contract, challenging discrimination, or defending your rights - Laymans gives you multiple pathways to fund your legal fight. You can crowdfund from individual supporters, apply for professional litigation financing, and build community pledges based on your contributions to the platform.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow the Raising Legal Funds workflow for a complete walkthrough from creating a campaign to applying for case funds.
Why Laymans Fundraising is Different
Most crowdfunding platforms treat legal cases like charity projects. Laymans treats them like what they are: investments in justice with measurable outcomes.
What makes Laymans unique:
| Feature | How It Works | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Pledge-based funding | Supporters pledge money that only charges when you purchase services | No upfront risk - funds convert when you actually need them |
| Professional financing | Litigation financiers and legal funds can review and invest in your case | Access institutional funding normally reserved for corporate lawsuits |
| Case-linked campaigns | Campaigns connect directly to your Laymans case | Transparent tracking - supporters see how funds are used |
| Community pledges | Build reputation through contributions, receive direct pledges | Your expertise and participation become fundraising assets |
| Attorney management | Your lawyer can manage your campaign and apply for funds on your behalf | Professional representation extends to fundraising strategy |
The bottom line: Laymans combines grassroots crowdfunding with professional litigation financing, giving you the best of both worlds.
Three Ways to Raise Money
1. Campaigns (Crowdfunding)
Campaigns are public fundraising vehicles that tell your story and raise money from multiple sources:
- Individual donors - People who believe in your cause and want to support you
- Litigation financiers - Professional funders who invest in meritorious cases
- Institutional grants - Legal aid funds and nonprofit organizations
- Community pledges - Laymans users who want to support your work
How campaigns work
- Create a campaign with a compelling title and description
- Set a realistic funding goal based on estimated legal costs
- Link your campaign to an existing case (or create one later)
- Write your first update to make the campaign searchable
- Share the campaign URL on social media, email, and text
- Receive pledges from supporters
- When you purchase legal services, pledges convert to payments
- Keep supporters updated with regular progress reports
Key insight: Pledges don't charge immediately - they convert when you actually purchase legal services. If you raise more than you need, excess funds are refunded. If a pledge fails, you cover the difference.
Start now: Create a Campaign
2. Case Funds (Professional Financing)
Case Funds are established legal financing programs - grants, loans, or contingency arrangements - where professional funders review your case and invest based on its merits.
Unlike campaigns that rely on public support, case funds provide:
- Larger amounts - Institutional investors can fund complex litigation
- Expert review - Legal professionals evaluate your case's strength
- Strategic support - Many funds offer legal advice and resources
- No public campaigning - Apply privately without telling your story publicly
Review requirements
Case funds typically require:
- An active case on Laymans
- Documentation of your legal issue (casefiles, evidence)
- A clear legal theory and expected outcomes
- Sometimes a legal representative or attorney involvement
How it works:
- Browse available case funds on Laymans
- Review their criteria, focus areas, and funding terms
- Submit an application with case details and documentation
- Fund administrators review and make a funding decision
- If approved, funds are allocated to your campaign
- Use the funds to purchase legal services on Laymans
Start now: Apply to a Case Fund
3. Community Pledges
Pledges are direct support from the Laymans community based on your contributions and reputation on the platform.
How you earn pledges:
| Contribution Type | How It Builds Support | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Comments and insights | Share your lived experience on cases, movements, and issues | Comment on housing discrimination issues with your landlord experience |
| Casefiles and evidence | Upload public records, templates, and resources others can use | Share a successful demand letter that worked for you |
| Educational content | Create seminars, guides, or templates | Teach others about tenant rights in your state |
| Community organizing | Participate in movements and collective actions | Join housing rights movement, contribute research |
Why this matters: On Laymans, your participation has value. By sharing knowledge and resources, you build a reputation. Other users can pledge money directly to your future legal needs - no campaign required.
Building reputation
The more you contribute to Laymans - answering questions, sharing documents, creating educational content - the more visible your profile becomes. Community members can pledge to support your work before you even start a campaign.
Learn how: How to Pledge Money to Laypeople
Setting Realistic Funding Goals
How much do you actually need?
| Service Type | Typical Cost Range | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Unbundled services | $500 - $2,500 | Document review, demand letter, consultation |
| Single legal service | $2,500 - $7,500 | Court filing, motion drafting, contract negotiation |
| Median complex service | $5,000 - $10,000 | Discovery responses, settlement negotiation |
| Full representation | $10,000 - $30,000+ | Complete case handling from filing to trial |
Budgeting tips:
- Browse the marketplace first - Search for services in your practice area to see actual prices
- Start conservative - You can always create additional campaigns or adjust goals
- Account for phases - Break complex cases into phases (initial filing, discovery, trial)
- Plan for contingencies - Add 10-20% buffer for unexpected costs
- Consider movement support - Joining a movement may provide bundled services
About unused funds
Laymans doesn't hold real money. Pledges only convert when you purchase services. Any excess is automatically refunded to pledgers. Be realistic - overfunding doesn't help you, and under-funding leaves you responsible for the difference.
How Pledges Convert to Payments
Understanding the pledge system is critical to successful fundraising on Laymans.
The pledge lifecycle:
1. Supporter makes pledge → Stored in campaign, NOT charged
2. You purchase legal service → System attempts to charge all pledges
3. Successful charges → Funds go directly to service payment
4. Failed charges → You're responsible for the difference
5. Excess funds → Automatically refunded to supportersKey mechanics:
- No upfront charging - Pledges are commitments, not immediate payments
- Automatic conversion - When you check out with campaign funds, all pledges attempt to charge
- Refund protection - If you don't use all raised funds, supporters get money back
- Flexible pledging - Supporters can add or remove pledges anytime before conversion
- Payment methods - Pledges use Stripe for secure payment processing
What happens if a pledge fails?
If a supporter's payment method fails during conversion:
- The pledge is marked as failed
- You receive notification of the shortfall
- You must cover the difference to complete the service purchase
- The failed pledger is notified and can update their payment method
- Future pledges from that supporter may be flagged as high-risk
Pro tip: Maintain regular communication with supporters. Failed payments often happen because people forget about pledges made months ago. Regular updates keep your campaign top-of-mind.
Keeping Supporters Informed
Updates are not optional. They're how you maintain trust, attract new supporters, and keep existing pledgers engaged.
Why updates matter:
| Audience | What They Need | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Individual donors | Progress reports, wins, obstacles | Every 2-4 weeks |
| Litigation financiers | Legal developments, case status, financial transparency | As required by fund terms |
| Community pledgers | Impact stories, how their support helped | Monthly or major milestones |
| Your attorney | Internal coordination, strategy changes | As needed |
Update types:
- Press - Public announcements, media coverage, victories you want to share widely
- Legal - Court filings, motions, hearings, case developments (be careful with strategy)
- Financial - How funds were used, new needs, budget changes
- Internal - Private updates for your team, attorney, or specific funders
First update is critical
Your campaign won't appear in search results until you write your first update. After creating a campaign, immediately write an update explaining:
- Why you're raising money
- What happened to bring you to this point
- How the funds will be used
- What success looks like
Transparency builds trust: Share documents, images, news articles, and videos. Show court filings (redacted as needed), photos from events, screenshots of correspondence, videos explaining developments. Rich updates attract more support.
Start now: How to Update Your Campaign Supporters
Campaign Strategy Tips
Writing an effective campaign
Your campaign title should:
- Be catchy and memorable
- Clearly indicate the issue ("Fighting Wrongful Eviction in Oakland")
- NOT reveal personal information or legal strategy
- NOT identify yourself by full name if privacy is a concern
Your campaign description should:
- Tell a compelling story with a clear timeline
- Explain the injustice and why it matters
- Show how this case could help others facing similar issues
- Avoid detailed legal analysis that could be used against you
- Focus on societal change and base injustice (what moves people)
Privacy considerations
Campaigns are public by default. Do NOT include:
- Your full legal name (unless you're comfortable)
- Specific addresses or identifying details
- Legal theories your opponent could exploit
- Privileged attorney communications
- Evidence that should be kept confidential
You can make updates private - visible only to you, your attorney, and funders.
Promoting your campaign
- Share directly - Use the share button to get a direct link to your campaign
- Social media - Post on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, community forums
- Email networks - Reach out to friends, family, community groups
- Text messaging - Personal asks to close contacts
- Local organizing - Flyers, community meetings, activist groups
- Contribute on Laymans - Comments, casefiles, seminars build your profile and attract pledges
Working with your attorney
If you hire legal representation, they can:
- Manage your campaign - Create, edit, and update on your behalf
- Apply for case funds - Professional applications carry more weight
- Adjust funding goals - As case needs change
- Write professional updates - Legal developments explained clearly
- Coordinate with funders - Meet reporting requirements
Your attorney managing your campaign doesn't mean you lose control - you can still write updates, adjust goals, and communicate with supporters.
Combining Funding Sources
You don't have to choose just one approach. The most successful fundraising strategies use multiple channels:
Example strategy:
- Start with a campaign to test public interest and raise initial funds
- Apply to case funds once you have a case and initial documentation
- Build community pledges by contributing resources and expertise to Laymans
- Keep everyone updated with regular progress reports
- Adjust and iterate as your case develops and needs change
Payment priority at checkout:
When you purchase legal services with campaign funds:
- Case fund allocations are applied first (institutional money)
- Campaign pledges are charged second (crowdfunded support)
- You cover any remaining balance (out of pocket)
This priority ensures professional funders get first allocation, protecting their investment, while giving you flexibility with crowdfunded support.
Fundraising Without a Case
Do you need a case to fundraise?
Not immediately - but eventually, yes. Here's how it works:
| Scenario | What You Can Do | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| No case yet | Create a campaign, set goals, start sharing | Campaign won't appear in search until first update |
| Campaign without case | Raise pledges, build support, promote your story | Can't use campaign funds for service purchases yet |
| Case created later | Link campaign to case retroactively | Now pledges can convert when you buy services |
The workflow:
- Start fundraising early - campaigns take time to build
- Create your case when you're ready (or when you hire an attorney)
- Link the campaign to the case
- Use raised funds to purchase services in the marketplace
Pro tip: You can create a campaign before you fully understand your legal issue. Use it as an organizing tool - the process of writing your story and responding to supporter questions can help clarify your case theory.
Financial Management
Tracking your fundraising:
- Campaign dashboard - Shows total pledged, amount raised, funding goal progress
- Update analytics - See which updates get the most engagement
- Pledge details - View individual pledgers, amounts, and conversion status
- Service purchases - Track how campaign funds were used
Transparency features:
- Public campaign page - Anyone can see your funding goal and progress
- Supporter visibility - Pledgers can see how many others support your case
- Fund allocations - Case funds that contribute are listed on your campaign
- Update history - Complete record of all communications with supporters
Learn more: How to View Your Legal Fees and Expenses
Getting Started with Fundraising
| Step | Action | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create a Laymans case to fundraise for | How to Start a Case |
| 2 | Launch your first campaign | Create a Campaign |
| 3 | Write your first update (makes campaign searchable) | Update Your Supporters |
| 4 | Browse and apply to relevant case funds | Apply to a Case Fund |
| 5 | Build community support by contributing to Laymans | Pledge to Others |
| 6 | Purchase services with raised funds | Purchase Services |
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don't raise enough money?
You're responsible for the difference. Campaign pledges + case fund allocations + your out-of-pocket payment = total service cost. If you need more funding, you can:
- Create a new campaign for a specific service
- Adjust your existing campaign goal and promote again
- Apply to additional case funds
- Look for unbundled services that cost less
- Join a movement that might subsidize services
Can I withdraw cash from my campaign?
No. Laymans never stores real money. Pledges only convert when you purchase legal services on the platform. This protects against fraud and ensures funds are used for their intended purpose.
What happens if I win my case and get a settlement?
That's between you, your attorney, and any litigation financiers who funded your case. Some case funds operate on contingency (they get a percentage of recovery). Individual pledgers typically don't get repaid - their contribution was a donation to support access to justice.
Can my attorney see my campaign?
If you grant them access to your case, yes. Attorneys can manage campaigns, write updates, apply for funds, and use campaign money for service purchases on your behalf. This is helpful for professional coordination.
How do I know if a case fund is legitimate?
Case funds on Laymans are verified organizations. You can review their:
- Organization profile and history
- Past cases they've funded
- Terms and conditions (grant vs. loan vs. contingency)
- Required documentation and application process
- Contact information and verification
Related Resources
- Purchase Legal Services - How to use campaign funds at checkout
- Join a Movement - Access collective funding and resources
- Build Your Case - Create the case your campaign supports
- Find Organizations - Connect with legal aid groups and nonprofits