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Ask HN: Who's your legal counsel?
6 points by rymohr on Jan 9, 2014 | hide | past | favorite | 11 comments
Hey everyone,

My startup needs to have some contracts drafted (enterprise and hiring) and possibly apply for some patents.

I've looked around but haven't found any overwhelming referrals. All the generic law firm ratings sites are basically useless.

So, who do you use? Do you use a firm or an individual? Are you happy with them? Would you recommend them to others?

Lastly, any major warning signs to look out for?

Thanks!



Really five go-to firms in the US that I would talk to as a startup: Cooley, Gunderson, Latham Watkins, Wilson Sonsini, Fenwick. All of them should have boilerplate agreements that they can help you with for low cost. They should also have some kind of "deal" for new startups that gives you some basic setup documents free and defers costs until you get financing.

More important question is to find the right partner/associate to work with. Your experience will depend more on who you work with than what firm. Ask for startup references from attorneys. Also, understand who will do the actual work for you -- law firms leverage associates so the chance that a partner will do work for you is low and if they do it will be super expensive.


No Orrick?


Orrick is a great firm but from my experience they are better for companies that are later stage. My sense is you have a greater chance of finding a great startup attorney at one of the other firms.


http://walkercorporatelaw.com

I haven't used them yet, but they are always sponsoring startup podcasts like This Week in Startups. I called them once to inquire about incorporating one of my web sites, Steve Walker answered the phone, answered a bunch of my questions, and quoted me a price that was on the lower end of prices that I got from other lawyers I contacted.

Again, I haven't actually used them yet, but I will when the time comes.


Walker sounds promising to me too. I had found them earlier and saw Neil Patel (founder of KISSmetrics) put it a good word for them.

Surprised more firms don't include customer testimonials.


I use an individual I grew up with who just happens to now be at a decently large firm. I agree with you, though. We went through some discussions with other firms before choosing them and others are either too expensive or too hard to get a hold of.


Also, watch out for charging a lot for a boilerplate document, such as an operating agreement or a new hire agreement. We've had firms do that to us before we got settled with current firm.


Mind sharing what firm you're using?


Not in this forum. A little new to hacker news posting, is there a private message feature?


No. Some people add contact info to their profiles, though.


ryan@kumu.io




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