Your Law Firm Partner for Demand Letters & Small Claims Court

Don't face legal disputes alone. Transparent, fixed pricing for peace of mind.

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Ranked the #1 Small Claims Assistance Service on Trustpilot:

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Thanks to this website and the amazing team behind it, I am able to solve most of legality issues for my business.

PAA
August 15, 2024

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Justice Direct and People Clerk did an excellent job of helping me organize and file my small claims case. They went the full route finding that my defendant was actually a branch of a national LLC. I may have had trouble collecting if they had gone the extra mile in researching that. Their help in completing the paperwork and arranging for service of process saved me hours of effort. Outstanding organization!

Lowell R.
August 8, 2024

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I felt supported from Start to finish. All of my questions were answered in a timely manner and explained in easily to understand verbiage. I now wait for my court date to arrive! Thank you for taking the stress off of my shoulders to get my small claims case filed correctly!

Suzanne
July 26, 2024

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People Clerk is Now Part of JusticeDirect Law

We have joined together to help you navigate demand letters and small claims court. It's the same great team helping you get justice.

Learn more about the merger ➜

Why JusticeDirect Law?

Our Lawyers

Our attorneys have handled thousands of small claims cases and demand letters.

Online Case Dashboard

Always know the status of your dispute with our real-time case dashboard, email updates, and text messages.

Client Focused

You will always have access to our Customer Success Team, as we know legal disputes can feel overwhelming.

Pricing

Demand Letter Tool

$0

Free Letter Creation

CREATE LETTER
  • Create a Formal Legal Letter using our Free Tool

  • Free Letter Download

  • Paid Shipping Option Available

  • Meet Court Requirements*

This is not an attorney service.

Need us to ship your letter for you? Starting at $29.50.

Creating each additional letter after the first costs $10.

*Some courts require you to send a demand letter before filing a small claims lawsuit.

Attorney Demand Letter

$300.00

Written and Signed by Your Attorney

Request Letter
  • Attorney Written and Signed

  • Mailed on our Law Firm Letterhead

  • We ship for you via USPS Certified or Priority Mail

  • Tracking & Delivery Notifications

  • Free Replacement Shipping if Delayed

  • Meet Court Requirements*

This is an attorney service.

*Some courts require you to send a demand letter before filing a small claims lawsuit.

Small Claims Lawsuit

$500.00

Starting at

Start My Lawsuit
  • Attorney Review & Feedback in Writing

  • Preparation of Court Forms

    • Legal Entity Search

    • Court Selection

  • Lawsuit Filing

  • Lawsuit Serving

  • Proof of Service Filing

  • Email and Text Updates Each Step of the Way

  • Hearing Preparation:

    • Judge-Friendly Evidence Packet

    • Access to 100's of Legal Education Articles

  • Optional Add-Ons

    • Virtual Hearing Requests

    • Printing and Mailing of Evidence

This is an attorney service.

All attorney communication will be in writing only.

Court filing fees and service costs are not included (see details below).

General FAQs

By emailing [email protected] or by clicking the message button on the bottom right-hand corner of our website once you create an account.

Once you become a client, you will be able to schedule calls with our team.

We pride ourselves on having the most empathetic and detail-oriented customer support team.

Demand Letter FAQs

A demand letter shows you’re serious and determined to get the money you’re owed. Many people resolve their problems by sending a demand letter. Additionally, if you resolve your problem with a demand letter you can avoid having to go to court.

Some courts require proof that you tried to resolve the problem before filing a small claims lawsuit.

We have two types of demand letter services:

  • Our self-serve demand letter tool, where an attorney will not review your demand letter and

  • A service where one of our attorneys will write and send your demand letter for you.

Review our pricing page.

Small Claims FAQs

In California:

  • Small claims hearings are normally scheduled 30-75 days after the lawsuit is filed.

  • Most judges decide cases within 7-14 days after the hearing.

In New York:

  • It highly varies by court when a small claims hearing will be scheduled and when a case will be decided.

Here are some factors that go into whether you will win your case:

  1. Are you right on the law? Whether the law is on your side depends on the type of case you have and the laws that apply. We also provide free legal information available on JusticeDirect Academy.

  2. Did you follow the right procedure? This is where we excel. We ensure that you have followed all the correct steps so that you are prepared for your day in court and your hearing.

  3. Did you organize your evidence? As part of our process, you will upload all your evidence, and our software will help you organize it into a judge-friendly evidence packet. We will also provide you with evidence checklists for common types of cases.

If you need to sue in small claims court but live outside the filing state (or don't live close to the courthouse where you need to file), we may still be able to assist you. Many courts offer virtual hearings. Please email us at [email protected] to confirm whether your filing court offers virtual hearings.

The deadline to file your lawsuit depends on the following:

  1. the type of case you have, and

  2. the state in which you are filing your lawsuit.

These deadlines are known as the "statutes of limitations."

Here are some reasons you shouldn't wait to file your lawsuit:

  1. As time passes, you begin to lose your evidence.

  2. You don't want the judge to doubt why you waited so long to file your lawsuit.

  3. If you do something wrong during your first lawsuit and need to file your case again, the statute of limitations may have passed.

Review our guide to common statutes of limitations.

We will send you multiple hearing date reminders by email and text message.

We will also send you case updates each step of the process so that you always know your case status and next steps. Your case status will also always be available on our case dashboard.

You will need to keep an eye out for any mail from the other party or the court and let us know if the court has changed your hearing date or if the other party has requested a change of hearing date.

If you can’t attend your hearing and you don't notify the court, the court will close your case.

We can help you prepare and file a request with the court to reschedule your hearing.

If you purchase our Small Claims Lawsuit service, the judge will decide which costs are reimbursable by the person or business you sue.

In California, we have seen that most judges require the person or business you sue to reimburse you for court filing fees and serving costs if you win.

Without the correct address, we may not be able to serve the lawsuit later on.

How to find the other person's address:

  • Phone Number. Try a reverse phone number lookup. Type the phone number into a Google Search and see what you find. You can also check with "reverse phone number lookup" companies.

  • General Google Search. You would be surprised by what you can find on Google. Try searching their email address, old address, or previous employer. You can also check to see what you find on Linkedin (the person can be served at work) or other social media.

  • Hire a skip tracer or private investigator. You can also hire a 3rd party to search for where the other party may have moved to but this isn’t always successful.

The result after your hearing is commonly referred to as a judgment. It typically takes 3-7 business days after the hearing to receive the judgment in the mail, but it can take up to 90 days for more complicated cases.

In some cases, you may receive your judgment on the day of your hearing.

Here are some factors that go into whether you will win your small claims lawsuit:

  1. Are you right on the law? Whether the law is on your side depends on your case type and applicable laws. As part of our process, your attorney will review your case and provide you with guidance on the laws that apply.

  2. Did you follow the right procedure? We ensure that you have followed all the correct steps when navigating small claims, otherwise, your case won't proceed to be determined by a judge.

  3. Did you organize your evidence? As part of our process, you will upload all your evidence, and our software will help you organize it into a judge-friendly evidence packet. Your attorney will also provide feedback on organizing your evidence packet.

  • If your court has electronic filing, we will file the lawsuit for you.

  • If your court doesn't have electronic filing (or has a faulty system for electronic filing), we'll send you a comprehensive packet that contains everything you need to file the lawsuit by mail, so you won't have to worry about printing, visiting the post office, or heading to the court in person to file the lawsuit.

  • We will ensure the court files your lawsuit and keep you updated on the status.

So long as there isn't another court that is more specific to your lawsuit (for example, eviction court), then the lawsuit can be filed in small claims.

The most common types of small claims lawsuits in California are:

  • Security Deposit. ​Your landlord did not return your security deposit.

  • Rent. Your tenant or roommate didn't pay the rent.

  • Loan. You loaned someone money, and they didn't pay you back.

  • Car Accident. Someone hit your car while driving, and now you have to pay for the repair work.

  • Mechanic. ​You hired a mechanic to repair your car, and they did a terrible job.

  • Contractors. You hired a contractor to perform work at your home, and they did a terrible job.

  • Neighbor. Your neighbor damaged your property.

  • Contracts. You had a contract with someone, and they broke the contract.

  • Damage to Property. Someone damaged your property (e.g. house, car, bicycle).

  • Goods. You bought an item and didn't receive it, or you sold an item and didn't get paid for it.

  • Insurance Companies. Your insurance company didn't pay you for a claim they should have paid you for.

  • Services. You paid for a service and didn't receive it, or you provided a service and didn't get paid.