MoForever Alumni News - Summer 2019

19 | MoForever Summer 2019 “MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE TOO BROKE TO AFFORD A LAWYER AND NEED OUR HELP. WE CAN NOW HELP TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE EVERY YEAR...” Co-chair of the Business Restructuring and Insolvency Group. Their strategic advice guided our growth in the first six months.” That advice was underpinned by the powerfully felt cultural support for pro bono work at MoFo. “MoFo places such a large emphasis on pro bono work and public service. It’s embedded in the firm culture,” Jonathan says, “from the top layer down. That cultural emphasis on public service was a large, unspoken influence on my path.” Jonathan needed all the support he could get back then. “So much fear goes into building something when you’ve analyzed risk for your career. That lawyer mindset is valuable in a lot of ways, obviously, but it also can be destructive because it causes you to limit yourself and believe you’re capable of less than you are.” “At times, I honestly thought Upsolve would fail,” he says. But then he’d remember how Upsolve would change lives. “As fearful as I was, I was even more convinced of the very real need for our services. And I knew our team were the only ones who could bring it to life.” This was, after all, why he chose a career in law. “Reading cases like Brown v. Board of Education , I saw how lawyers change policies that impact lives. Law and technology are an exciting combination for positively impacting so many lives.” The Struggle to Bring Awareness to More People “Millions of people are too broke to afford a lawyer and need our help. We can now help tens of thousands of people every year,” says Jonathan. U.S. household debt hit yet another record high in 2018, this time over $13 billion. Meanwhile, 60% of Americans don’t have the savings to cover a $1,000 emergency, and a record number are three months or more late on car payments. Making those people aware of Upsolve’s services is the team’s biggest challenge today. Upsolve needs to appear first when people Google “bankruptcy pro bono” and related terms. Upsolve cannot afford online “pay-per-click” advertising because they compete for the same clicks as for-profit bankruptcy lawyers who can spend much more money. So the team focuses on publishing a lot of bankruptcy-related content and seeks to obtain authoritative links to the site by getting media organizations to cover their story. The strategy is working. In April, Fast Company , an American business magazine that focuses on technology, business, and design, gave Upsolve its “Social Justice World Changing Ideas 2019 Award.” The start-up Jonathan was dubious about building is a winner in the social justice category,