Startup Lawyer: Legal Services for Growing Startups
Legal Operations Made Easy.
Legal Services Built for Startups
Startup legal needs are super spikey–that means, sometimes you need it, and the rest of the time, you’re in build mode; having a full time general counsel can therefore be hard to justify.
So how do you work with a lawyer who is not incentivized to charge by the hour; who is positioned to be an entrenched and systems-minded player; who can engage in a more flexible way?
Legal and Ops answers this question with its fixed price, turnaround-time guaranteed a la carte & unlimited menu of the legal tasks that startups need.
With an exclusive focus on B2B SaaS, you can rest assured we have a deep understanding and experience in the kinds of questions that are probably relevant for you, and we don’t need to spend time researching an issue or getting a sense of what’s “market”, or standard.
Who we are
Legal and Ops is a small, scrappy team of post-BigLaw attorneys. Like many of you reading this, we gave up comfortable paychecks and a sense of security because we’re over the incentive problems, lack of transparency, and lack of best business practices in law firms–like offering price predictability when you understand the scope of work, or telling your customer when they’ll get their work product back. Let alone using modern tools that make legal work more efficient, and communication with your clients easier.
From formation through priced equity rounds and exits, Legal and Ops has served over 150 clients, including many from accelerators like Y Combinator and 500 Startups, or VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer, and many more.
Why Startups Trust Us
Coming from the best law schools like Harvard, the best law firms like WSGR, and the best startups like Andreessen Horowitz-backed Atrium, Legal and Ops has served over 150 clients, including many from accelerators like Y Combinator and 500 Startups, or VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer, and many more.
Startups in silicon valley tend to follow a specific set of procedures to define what each of those outcomes look like–in fact, there’s a premium to having documents that look like everyone else’s, because it’s tried and true, and familiar to the lawyers doing diligence on behalf of investors and purchasers.
Not every corporate workstream needs to be executed exactly like everyone else’s, and not every workstream is of equal importance to your company.
consistent legal execution & systems
How We Can Help
Fractional General Counsel
- Your go to resource for everyday questions on housekeeping, cap table, contracts, and more
Corporate Governance
- Formation documents
- Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements
- Investors’ Rights Agreements
- Charters / Certificates of Incorporation
- Right of First Refusal Agreements
- Corporate Bylaws
- Certificates of Incorporation
- SAFE / Priced Equity Financings
- Stock / Option Agreements
- Employment & Contractor Agreements
Contracts & Redlines
- Terms of Service
- Cloud Service/SaaS Agreements
- Master & Professional Service Agreements
- Vendor Agreements
- Partnership Agreements
Full Life Cycle Solutions
Legal and Ops has helped countless startups through all phases of its journey–from formation through exit, and everything in between; no matter if you formed on Clerky or with another lawyer; if you are exiting to a strategic investor or an economic buyer: Chances are, we’ve seen it, and we’ve helped with it.
Formation Stage - Forming a standard Delaware C Corp to eventually raise VC money? Chances are, if you’re confident, you can do this yourself using the great self-service tools that exist out there. But if you prefer some help, want to outsource it, or want something bespoke (not always recommended), we got you! With countless formations under our belt, we know the ins and outs, and can meet you at your level; just answering a few questions, or white glove full service.
Debt and Equity Financings - From SAFEs, to Convertible Notes, Promissory Notes, or priced equity rounds–Seed and on–we’re prepared to support you in getting capitalized. Especially for simpler SAFE rounds, while there are some legal implications, you can self-service much of this process; just be mindful of the impacts on your cap table. If you want some help, or for more intense transactions, like priced equity rounds, we’d be happy to build your pro forma cap table, prepare NVCA docs, negotiate with your investors, and execute on closing.
M&A and Exits- When it (finally!) comes time to make your big move, we’re here to support. Whether it’s an asset or stock sales, the homerun you wanted or a fire sale, leverage our experience and knowledge to make sure the transaction is on point, starting with the Letter of Interest. We work alone or with co-counsel to make sure you have the best combination of value and expertise, with your ride-or-die fractional GC that’s been along every step of your journey.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Startup Attorney
James at CommandBar called us a human API into legal. Joe at Office Hours said our experience as attorneys and operators was exactly what they needed for compliance and legal operations issues.
As lawyers who are also builders, we understand you need risk-weighted, practical advice; and as a small shop, every client experience matters just as much to us as it does to you.