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STEMMEN FRA INNSIDENTHE VOICE FROM INSIDE
Norsk
STEMMEN FRA INNSIDENInnsatt 2601-46
Local tools and prototypes. Real submissions and payments are not open.

English working draft

Legal help with the money held by the lawyer

The private working version has been changed to reflect the request for an account controlled only by the account lawyer. The earlier Vipps model is no longer part of the active arrangement.

How the arrangement works

  1. Contributions go directly to the lawyer’s account, if the lawyer and bank accept the arrangement. The project owner, website and AI system receive no authority to move money.
  2. Payments and balances are reconciled. The public report shows only total receipts, spending, refunds and the remaining balance, dated to the lawyer’s report. Donor names and banking details are not displayed.
  3. Sufficient preliminary analysis and funding come before an invitation. Document work and crowdfunding can proceed together. Holding the account does not mean the lawyer has already assessed the case. Once both targets are met and the available balance is current, counsel can be invited to conduct an independent assessment. A mandate and budget precede later spending. A number of decisions or an AI assessment triggers neither payment nor litigation.
  4. The lawyer follows up refunds. When the conditions fail, the demonstration can produce a list of amounts to return. An amount is not marked as refunded until the corresponding bank payment has been confirmed and reconciled.

The working version demonstrates preliminary analysis and fundraising in parallel, reconciliation, readiness to invite counsel, later assessment and budgeting, confirmed spending and refund follow-up. Its demonstration amounts and analyses are fictional. A separate report field retrieves only confirmed aggregate account amounts from the server if a report exists. The website does not create an account or make bank transfers.

Open the separate account report · See the three stages and two progress tracks · Review the advisory counsel-choice feature.

Before real fundraising can open

The account lawyer must confirm the account-holding instruction, correct account type, bank authority arrangements and contribution terms. This does not require prior legal review of all decisions or acceptance of future litigation. The agreement must identify the client, ownership of the money, costs, deadlines and refund rights. Specific rules for advance payments of lawyers’ fees and expenses apply from 2026; the appropriate account structure must therefore be checked for this particular arrangement.

The software has no bank access. The aggregate-report service is disabled until configured for an authenticated, authorised reporter. A local test identity is not real authentication, and no bank account has been connected.

The proposal below can be completed and sent to the lawyer. It grants no banking authority and does not open fundraising. The downloadable draft agreement is in Norwegian.

Proposed agreement for a lawyer-held legal-help account

Draft for the lawyer’s review and completion — unsigned and not open for payments. This is a working English translation, not a certified translation.

This proposal concerns Stemmen fra innsiden and the investigation of documented questions about administrative practice. I would like any contributions to go directly to an arrangement administered by you as a lawyer, with ordinary authority to operate the account reserved to you. Neither I, the website nor the AI system should be able to withdraw or move the money.

I first ask you to consider a limited instruction covering account custody, reconciliation and reporting, the appropriate account type and the contribution terms you require. This does not mean that you already agree to assess or conduct litigation. That assessment comes later, when enough provisionally analysed material and confirmed funding are available, and may be undertaken by another lawyer. No details of an actual account should be published until you have confirmed the arrangement in writing.

1. Parties and purpose

Responsible lawyer: [name]. Law firm and organisation number: [complete]. Confirmed contact channel: [complete].

Client/instructing party: [name or legal entity]. Owner of the funds while the conditions remain unresolved: [complete]. Person authorised to give instructions within the agreed terms: [complete].

The money may be used only for [specific description of legal review and any subsequent legal assistance], within a written budget. Contributions must not fund the project owner’s personal finances, blog operation, book production or other purposes. A contribution does not automatically create a lawyer–client relationship, party status, a right to individual representation or a promise of compensation.

2. Account and authority

Account type, account holder and bank: [lawyer confirms the appropriate structure]. Bank confirmation and internal case/accounting reference: [complete privately].

The named lawyer should hold ordinary authority to operate the account under the agreement. The project owner, website operator and AI providers receive no banking authorisation or payment credentials. A change to the website cannot create such authority. Any lawful succession or administration arrangement following departure, illness or official intervention is addressed under section 8; the funds do not pass to the project owner.

Before opening, the lawyer determines whether the contributions can be accepted as proposed, who the client and beneficial owner are, which checks are necessary and how each contribution is recorded. Payment references should be neutral and contain no sensitive case information.

The account type needs specific confirmation: The Norwegian Supervisory Authority for Legal Practice’s guidance distinguishes, from 1 January 2026, ordinary client funds from advance payments for fees and expenses. This proposal does not assume that a single account can serve every purpose or that funds can move freely between account types. Advokattilsynet guidance (Norwegian).

3. Collection, invitation and later spending

Stage 1 — parallel collection: Decisions are collected and provisionally analysed while money is raised under the agreed account arrangement. Provisionally analysed decisions can count without a lawyer first reviewing each decision. The method, quality and duplicate checks must be open to verification. A machine flag indicates a possible need for checking, not an established legal violation.

Stage 2 — ready to invite counsel: The agreed analysis threshold is [number of unique provisionally analysed decisions, method and report date]. The funding target is [NOK]. Both conditions must be met: enough provisionally analysed material and a current reconciled report confirming enough available funds after spending and refunds. Gross receipts or pledges are insufficient. Counsel can then be invited to assess the material. The system sends no invitation or instruction automatically.

Stage 3 — independent assessment and possible instruction: The invited lawyer decides whether an instruction can and should be accepted. The account lawyer may be the same person or a different lawyer. Reaching the thresholds does not oblige anyone to conduct litigation. Before later spending, the responsible lawyer must document:

  1. The established client/instruction relationship and necessary authorisations.
  2. An independent legal assessment of the basis, further work and litigation/cost risks.
  3. A budget stating the spending limit, pricing basis, cost categories and payment recipients.
  4. Information provided to contributors about the applicable terms, including permitted spending and refunds.

The thresholds concern an invitation for a later assessment. They are not evidentiary standards and trigger neither litigation, acceptance of instructions nor payment. The AI system never grants payment authority. Payment for an initial legal assessment, its cost cap and its effect on refunds must be separately agreed before that work is commissioned; this assessment is not an entry condition for collecting material and contributions.

Charging the lawyer’s own fees requires the account treatment, engagement agreement, invoice and documentation determined by the lawyer. An approval button on the website is insufficient. Cost cap for account custody before case assessment: [NOK]. Later legal assessment and any litigation require separate terms and [expressly agreed procedure].

4. Deadlines and refunds

Opening: [date and time, Europe/Oslo]. Fundraising closes: [date/time]. Legal assessment and spending decision due by: [date/time]. Deadline for use of the approved budget: [date/time]. Refund follow-up begins no later than: [date/time].

If the conditions for spending are not met by the deadline, the proposal is to return the unused contribution. A full refund of the principal before release can be promised only if fees, custody and the initial assessment are funded separately. Cost bearer and reserve: [name, amount and confirmation]. If this cannot be agreed, the contributor information and refund model must change before the first payment.

Money already lawfully spent cannot also be promised as a refund. Allocation of unused funds, interest and any later recovery of costs from an opposing party: [specific calculation rule]. Minimum amounts, rounding and missing or changed bank details: [complete]. No remaining funds automatically pass to another purpose.

The website may prepare a refund list and deadline reminders. The lawyer checks the recipient and amount and makes the transfer. A refund is shown as confirmed only after the lawyer reconciles the completed payment. Errors, rejected payments and unresolved recipients must be followed up, not hidden under a “refunded” status.

5. Contributor information

Before paying, a contributor must be able to read and save the dated terms, including purpose, responsible lawyer/firm, deadlines, spending conditions, fees, refunds and contact channel. Contributions are voluntary. Using the analysis tools or participating in the study must not depend on making a financial contribution.

Contributor acceptance of terms: [lawyer-approved arrangement]. Fundraising must not open until the lawyer has assessed how to handle numerous contributions and any overseas payments responsibly. Mistaken payments and payments lacking required identification: [return/clarification procedure].

6. Accounts and public reporting

The lawyer retains the necessary donor and transaction records and maintains the accounts. The website receives only a dated, reconciled report of aggregate receipts, spending, refunds and remaining funds, with visible explanations for discrepancies. Approved or planned spending must remain separate from completed payments.

Reconciliation and public reporting: [frequency, responsibility and approval channel]. The proposal is to update the public overview after each approved report, displaying its date. Advokattilsynet’s guidance describes three-way reconciliation of client funds; the website’s presentation does not replace the lawyer’s accounts. Advokattilsynet: client funds (Norwegian).

7. Personal information and contact

Donor names, private bank account numbers, payment messages and vouchers must not be published. Determine responsibility, secure contact, retention periods and accounting records that must be retained: [complete]. The lawyer confirms in advance which aggregate figures can be shown without disclosing confidential matters. No public donor list is created by default.

Payment/refund contact: [lawyer’s channel]. Contact about an individual legal case: [separate channel]. A fund contribution does not replace an individual engagement agreement or necessary authorisation.

8. Departure, discrepancies and closure

If the lawyer withdraws, the account can no longer be used, or ownership is unresolved or a material discrepancy occurs, new contributions and transactions stop under the agreed procedure. The proposal is to refund the money unless a lawful succession arrangement is agreed and the necessary authorisations are in place. The agreement must not obstruct statutory measures or any official administration arrangement.

The project owner never gains automatic access. Contact and notification for discrepancies: [complete]. Complaints and dispute resolution: [lawyer supplies the relevant procedures and contact information].

9. Confirmations before opening

Place/date: [complete]. Lawyer’s signature: [complete]. Client/instructing party’s signature: [complete]. Applicable terms version: [complete].

Source and status note: This is a proposal for review, not a statement that an account or agreement exists. The source record states that the Norwegian Advokattilsynet guidance was read on 1 November 2026. The lawyer must make a final check of the applicable rules and adapt the agreement to the instruction before use.