[malgorithms]

I say this because investors sit on boards and work alongside these lawyers once they invest. They learn pretty quickly who is great and can often give very direct recommendations: a specific lawyer, not just a firm. At the startup stage you should choose the lawyer, not the firm.

[altusbrown]

FYI - at least one friend-of-a-friend large scale investor reached out after this article to note he'd almost hired this same person.

Don't assume someone coming in through a reference has had the level of due diligence you need. Always do your own due diligence. It catches things that will otherwise slip through because everyone assumes everyone else checked.