Excerpt from Google for Startups:
Here’s an open secret about U.S. state courthouses. Each year, some 19 million defendants—with no lawyer to defend them—stand before a civil court judge and white-knuckle their way through life-changing lawsuits, where they lose in 96 percent of their cases.
Pro se means “for oneself,” but Durham-based startup Courtroom5 hopes to make its users feel a little less alone by empowering them to act as their own lawyer if they can’t afford to hire one. Courtroom5’s end-to-end, AI-powered digital legal platform was created during a time of seismic change in the role courts and lawyers play in everyday Americans’ lives. For $75 monthly, Courtroom teaches clients to craft motions and draft pleadings that will land them a fair hearing in civil suits (non-criminal cases that do not come with a right to counsel in the U.S.). The app’s AI chatbot Sylvia uses Google Cloud to scope case progress daily, so users only get fine-tuned specifics for their needs.
“More than seven out of ten who complete their cases at Courtroom5 either win or settle,” says Sonja Ebron, who co-founded Courtroom5 with her wife Debra Slone. “We’ve had people thank us for helping them retain custody of their children, or keep them in their homes under foreclosure, or gain access to an inheritance. We’re very happy to be able to serve in this way.”
