Robert Ambrogi Blog
Paladin, a legal technology company whose platform enables law firms and legal services organizations to manage their pro bono programs and opportunities, has raised $8 million in Series A funding, which it plans to use to further develop its product and expand its market internationally.
Bringing Paladin’s total financing to over $12 million, this latest round was led by World Within, with participation from existing investors Mark Cuban, Hyde Park Venture Partners, the American Family Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, C2 Ventures, and Concrete Rose. Also joining the round were Vamos Ventures, The 98, and Engage VC.
Read about Paladin on the LawNext Legal Technology Directory.
Paladin’s platform is used by law firms, legal departments and other legal entities to enable their lawyers to find and sign up for pro bono opportunities and to track their pro bono work.
It is also used by legal services organizations to publicize pro bono opportunities and recruit lawyers to fill them.
Its customers include major law firms such as Dentons, Clifford Chance, Wilson Sonsini, and McDermott Will & Emery, as well as Fortune 500 companies including Verizon, Dell, and Zurich.
Paladin says it will use this new funding to accelerate development of its product and address demand from organizations that want to build out or scale their pro bono programs.
It will also use the funds to continue its expansion beyond the U.S. and Canada. Last November, Paladin established its first pro bono portal outside the U.S., establishing a platform in the United Kingdom through a partnership with with six major law firms: Akin Gump, Clifford Chance, McDermott Will & Emery, Vedder Price, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Winston & Strawn.
More recently, Paladin launched a first-of-its-kind European pro bono portal to assist with relief efforts for Ukrainians affected by the war, in partnership with the Legal Development Network, a group of Ukrainian community-based organizations that promotes people-centered justice through legal aid, legal education, strategic advocacy.
The company has also created a series of public-facing pro bono portals in partnerships with bar associations, including the Disaster Relief Pro Bono Portal in partnership with the American Bar Association, launched in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
Paladin had helped launch seven pro bono portals in the U.S. These include:
- Succession to Service in Colorado, connecting volunteer lawyers to their communities through local legal services organizations to help residents obtain legal help.
- Indiana Legal Help Pro Bono Opportunity Guide, developed with the Indiana Bar Foundation and the Coalition for Court Access.
- Pro Bono Texas, in partnership with The State Bar of Texas.
- Oklahoma’s Pro Bono Opportunity Portal, in partnership with the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation.
- The Unemployment Insurance Relief portal launched by the New York State Bar Association, in which Clio was also a partner.
- Wisconsin’s Pro Bono Opportunity Portal, together with the State Bar of Wisconsin.
“Our vision is to empower and mobilize legal teams worldwide to serve more people in need, and we’re thrilled to see more firms investing in ways to help their teams and communities better connect,” said Kristen Sonday, CEO of Paladin. “We’re honored to be building the first global infrastructure to scale pro bono connections, and are excited to work with our new investors to empower even more people who can help.”