Startup Lawyer: 5 Questions to Ask Before Hire

STARTUP LAWYER 5 Questions to Ask Before Hire Want to graw with your company Getting the right legal counsel for your company is like getting a great base for your startup, but you have to know how to pick the lawyer or firm that will best serve your goals. Here are 5 questions to ask as you embark on your own search: Do they understand your industry? Have they worked with early-stage startups? Many firms are excellent with contracts and document preparation, but if they don't under- stand the industry your startup lives in, they aren't going to be the best counsel for you, because they simply won't know what to look out for. So test their industry knowledge a little, and make sure they get your business. Early-stage startups have very different legal needs from mature startups. For early-stage companies, the focus has to be on building a legal infrastructure for the company; for later-stage companies, the focus is often on securities, funding, etc Look for a lawyer that understands the inception-to-launch What is their fee structure? Startups want everything for extremely cheap or for free - especially when it comes to service providers (hey, it's boot- strapping - we get itl). But when someone starts offering you free legal services. So look for legal counsel that is up-front with its fee structure or has a startup package Which lawyer will actually be working on your matter? $150/hour Get a great presentation by an experienced partner and find out later that the person handling you as a client is a first-year associate who doesn't under- stand exactly what your company does. Those conversations become very annoying, very quickly Overall, both.. Do you actually like the person you're talking to? This is something we all forget to consider: Do we actually like the lawyer we're hiring? In any hiring decision, personality matters. If you don't want to talk to your lawyer more than you absolutely have to, they not be the right person to represent and advise your company. Treat your legal counsel like any other hire. Sources VB Tnfagarphics by: uw.brynnlaw.com