Only lawyers can draft and list campaigns on Article Two. If you need a lawyer, contact us.
Your campaign must include all information below.
1. legal practice name, lawyer name, contact email, contact number. The campaign owner must be an Australian-admitted lawyer.
2. any other people or organisations involved. We encourage working in teams, including international teams or mixed lawyer and non-lawyer teams, as long as the campaign owner is an Australian-admitted lawyer.
3. what’s the public interest law issue? Describe the issue and explain how it is a matter of public interest. Tell us who will benefit, or your ultimate aim. Remember you can receive donations from 45 countries, so tell us: why should the world care?
4. why this work, and why now? Where does your proposed work fit into the history or the movement?
5. tell us about your client(s). The client can be anonymised. You don’t have to have a client.
6. how much are you crowdfunding? If you have a client, have you considered in your costs agreement whether they will pay anything out of pocket?
7. what will you use the money for? Describe the categories and estimated breakdown of fees for each category, if you can. Ensure the donations will not go to money laundering, terrorism financing, or breaching sanctions by sending funds to sanctioned nations or individuals.
8. what is your deadline and why? You could stage your deadlines, or you don’t have to propose a deadline at all.
9. what will you do with the money if the campaign does not proceed? Do you have a costs agreement with your client about what will happen? Options include refunds, paying forward to a similar Article Two Campaign by the same Lawyer or a different Lawyer, or making a new Campaign you will own and paying those Donations in.
10. what will you do with any money left over? Donors do not have a right to return or payouts, so they will want to know how you or the client will use leftover funds. Have you written this into your costs agreement?
11. how will you provide updates? Regular updates prompt more donations, and failure to provide updates can become misleading or deceptive conduct.
12. is this the only crowdfund by this legal practice for this issue? This question helps to identify copycat crowdfunds that could be misappropriating funds.
– studies show that confidence and negative affect generate the most donations! Be clear about what the goal is, and how the current situation has a negative effect on the community. Show confidence and assertiveness where you can.
– words that show dominance over emotions has been associated with increased funding. Language that is too emotive seems to suggest that a lawyer or client is emotionally blinkered about their campaign. However, more negative wording has been associated with increased funding, because it can trigger feelings of sympathy in a donor.
– videos and pictures are encouraged!
– if specific causes of action or topics for advocacy have been decided, consider referring to them. If anything changes, you can provide an update.
– having a reasonably costed target, and targets for identified categories of costs, would give transparency to donors and may be valuable evidence for any security for costs application, protective costs order application, costs negotiations or applications, or for the consideration of an unsuccessful defendant’s ability to pay damages. You might advise your client to set aside a reasonable amount for adverse costs orders, penalties, or fines.
– you could describe the historical or advocacy significance of your campaign, so donors can understand the place of the law in the broader social issue.
– you might choose a smaller initial goal and update the campaign with stretch goals or updates, to give donors a sense of progress and achievement.
– reported decisions have warned against misrepresentations, including by silence and failing to provide updates, and against overstating a case.
– reported decisions have looked poorly upon litigants who used crowdfunding as part of a campaign to improperly pressure the other side, visit reprisals against another party, or impair public confidence in a court.
– where a matter has already been reported in the news, you could link to it. Anything that has already been reported is already in the public domain, so (barring any retractions) you could refer to facts that have been reported.
– the usual obligations of privilege and confidentiality apply, including client legal privilege, confidentiality, and Harman undertakings. The usual prohibitions against misrepresentations, including misrepresentation by silence, apply.
– any disclosures in a crowdfunding campaign, or the existence of the crowdfunding campaign itself, can be used as evidence against your client. Be discerning about what you disclose to the public.
– any information shared to Article Two can be subpoenaed. Be discerning about what you disclose to us.
– if retained by a client for an identified matter, the legal practice would draft a campaign with the client’s instructions. The usual lawyer-client relationship would apply, and you would need a costs agreement.