Courtroom5 Profile

“Courtroom5 helps people represent themselves in complex civil litigation, such as debt collection, foreclosures, contested divorces, civil rights claims, and other matters. The Courtroom5 solution addresses the two primary needs of the self-represented civil litigant in these complex cases — deciding what to file at any step and then filing an effective legal document to reach the next step. 

Artificial intelligence tracks the user's progress in the case and points the user at each step to relevant training designed to help the user decide what to file next. The user then conducts claims analysis, legal research, and document assembly leading to a ready-to-file legal document. The user follows this process repeatedly throughout the case until a judgment or settlement is reached.”

“Courtroom5 is on a mission to deliver access to justice to everyone. We believe average people, who are closest to the facts of their cases, are their own best advocates and can obtain a fair hearing in court when provided basic information and support to use the legal system.”

“Courtroom5 has received funding from friends and family, angels, institutional venture capital, but also from pitch competition awards, grants, zero-interest loans, and customers.”

“The founders are Sonja Ebron and Debra Slone, former academics and experienced self-represented litigants. There are a dozen others on the team covering engineering, project management, software development, and customer service.”

“Each of the founders had experienced the hardships of representing herself in court. We each have Ph.D.’s — Sonja's an electrical engineer, and Debra is a librarian and information scientist — so we were able to quickly learn the information and develop the skills necessary to capably advocate for ourselves. But whenever we went to court, we saw many people struggling to understand and navigate our complex civil litigation system and getting the short end of the stick each time. We committed ourselves to providing a scalable solution to this problem.”

“We were brainstorming names and listening to Luniz's ‘I Got 5 On It’ in the background. Debra said, "You know, we could call this courtroom anything," and at that point, Luniz crooned the chorus line. We looked at each other, and "Courtroom 5" was born.”

“I loved teaching electrical engineering, but I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Courtroom5 is my third adventure in entrepreneurship. Two previous startups in energy utilities were great learning experiences.”

“We were concerned early on about violating state laws against the unlicensed practice of law. With suggestions from our legal teams and mentors in the legaltech space, we crafted a solution that provides legal information rather than legal advice.”

“We serve people handling complex civil claims in any US court.”

“We've invested heavily in search engine optimization and on search and social advertising.”

“We found them in local courthouses and offered them discounts for sharing their stories with us.”

“We focus on conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and customer lifetime value.”

“Book: ‘E-Myth Mastery’ 

Podcast: ‘Masters of Scale’”

“Jira is indispensable for herding developers and building/maintaining tech.”

“Entrepreneurship forces personal development. I've had to get over my ego more times than I can count.”

“I try to meditate and get a walk every day.”

“Everything I plan to do gets a spot on my calendar, including checking email and app notifications.”

“Active listening, choosing quick decisions over thoughtful decisions.”

“Bus person at Jack's Steakhouse in Raleigh, North Carolina. I learned that I wasn't cut out for restaurant work and that getting fired isn't the worst thing in the world.”

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