Investor questions.

Hello Justice Capital 1 is a French variable‑capital civil company (société civile à capital variable), registered in Créteil under number 989 268 917. The fund finances court proceedings in France and is managed by Hello Justice SAS. It is offered as a private placement (article L. 411-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code), from €100,000, and each subscriber’s identity is checked before their subscription form is signed.

A third party pays the lawyer’s fees and is paid out of the sums recovered, only in the event of success. If the case is lost, the client repays the funder nothing. The Versailles Court of Appeal recognised the validity of this agreement as early as 2006. Article 16 of the Act of 30 April 2025 is the first French statute to refer to it expressly, for group actions.

The fund pays the lawyers’ fees in selected court proceedings and is paid out of a share of the sums recovered, only in the event of success. Its first programme covers Swiss franc mortgages, a series of similar cases where each case remains individual, with its own lawyer and its own agreement. The eligibility of each case is analysed by a specialised partner lawyer: the features of the dispute, the limitation period, the completeness of the documents, reasonable prospects of success. Not every case is accepted.

The fund is paid out of the sums recovered in the cases it funds, only in the event of success. Each case has its own agreement, signed with the client and their lawyer before any commitment. In the Swiss franc loan programme, it sets the success fee at 14% incl. VAT of the sums recovered and of the saving obtained on the outstanding capital. The fee is taken from the amount paid by the bank, once the decision is final.

The fund’s members vote on every investment and every divestment concerning a major dispute, as article 10.2 of the articles of association provides. Hello Justice SAS, the manager, selects the cases and follows the proceedings. Each client’s lawyer runs the case.

Overlord SAS handles the incorporation, the administration (company secretarial work, investor information) and, where applicable, the liquidation of the fund.

Distributions first repay the members’ capital, then pay them preferred returns. Hello Justice SAS only receives its share after the capital has been repaid, and that share remains the minority one at every tier, in the order set by article 9.1.1 of the articles of association. The founders also invest in the fund, through their personal holding companies, on the same economic terms as the other members. The thresholds and splits are in the fund documentation.

Subscriptions start at €100,000 per investor, and you may subscribe more. The full terms, fees included, are in the fund documentation, provided in your space as soon as you send the pre‑qualification questionnaire.

The fund is not offered to the public. It is offered under article L. 411-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code, which governs private placements. Its documentation is provided by name, in the investor space, and each subscriber’s identity is checked before their subscription form is signed.

You create your investor space with your email address and answer the pre‑qualification questionnaire, in about two minutes: the fund documentation opens in your space straight away. Whenever you decide, you subscribe online, on the fund’s subscription platform, where you have your identity checked, complete your investor profile and sign your subscription form. Your commitment is then drawn as the fund needs it, each drawdown is paid by bank transfer, and your investment is confirmed once the funds arrive.

No document is required to read the documentation. When you subscribe, on the fund’s subscription platform, an individual has an identity document and a proof of address checked. A company has its certificate of incorporation (Kbis) checked there, plus the identity document and proof of address of its legal representative. The platform also checks the source of funds, under anti‑money‑laundering and counter‑terrorist‑financing rules.

The fund documentation sets out in full the entry fees, the management fees, the manager’s performance fee and the exit terms. It is provided in your space as soon as you send the pre‑qualification questionnaire. The performance fee only comes after the members’ capital has been repaid, and remains the minority share of every distribution.

Redemptions are locked for ten years from subscription (article 8.2 of the articles of association). Distributions are paid as cases conclude, without waiting for that term. After it, a redemption by the fund can be requested under the conditions of article 8.2.

A distribution follows the actual conclusion of a case: a final decision, a settlement that has been performed or enforcement, then collection of the sums. The first years are spent taking on cases and running the proceedings.

Each member finds the fund’s reports, the notices of the article 10.2 votes and their personal documents in their online space.

A transfer must be approved under the articles of association, by the manager and by the members, and the buyer must be eligible. There is no secondary market for the units. Redemptions are locked for ten years, and distributions are paid as cases conclude.

The units pass to the member’s heirs, who go through the usual identity checks. The ten‑year lock‑up applies to them as it did to the member, and distributions continue to be paid as cases conclude. The heirs can ask for an early redemption under the conditions of article 8.2 of the articles of association.

It depends on your situation: it differs depending on whether you invest personally or through a company, and on your country of tax residence. The fund’s tax regime is described in its documentation. Personal tax advice is recommended before you subscribe.

The capital invested can be lost, in part or in full. A case can be lost, settled for less than expected, or end in a judgment the losing party cannot pay. A case often lasts two to four years, sometimes longer. Redemptions are locked for ten years, distributions are paid as cases conclude, and there is no secondary market for the units.

No. The outcome of a case depends on the evidence, the law and the solvency of the opposing party. A case can be lost, and a losing party may not pay.

It limits the risk without removing it. Each case remains individual, and losing one does not bring down the others. But a reversal of case law can affect several cases at once, especially within a series of similar cases.

On 9 July 2025, the Cour de cassation handed down two published rulings. One (no. 24-19.647) opens unfair‑terms protection to borrowers whose income is paid in Swiss francs, often cross‑border workers. The other (no. 24-18.018) upholds the clause, because the bank had informed the borrower clearly. This is recent case law, liable to change, and each case is analysed on its own documents.

Hello Justice estimates that around 50,000 cases are eligible, for loans taken out between 2002 and 2015. The limitation period, the time allowed to bring a claim, runs until 2030. The eligibility of each case is analysed by a specialised partner lawyer, and not every case is accepted.

The founding team runs Hello Justice. Valentin PETITCLERC is its president and founder. Vincent DURAND, partner, has been a lawyer at the Lyon Bar since 1996. He founded ACTIVE AVOCATS in 2004. The firm joined the COGEP AVOCATS group in 2024, and he sits on the group’s management committee. Pauline ANDRIEU, partner, has been an international tax lawyer since 2015.

No. Hello Justice SAS manages the Hello Justice Capital 1 fund and selects the cases it funds. It gives no legal advice and represents no one in court. Each client remains free to choose their lawyer, who runs the case independently and remains bound by professional secrecy.