Ask HN: How did you pick your lawyer or law firm?

[SuperDuperTango]

(ok, take two on this)

I'm a few months into my startup and need to incorporate and make it all "official". It's a tech startup (duh), so will be doing founder stock, bringing on employees, raising capital at some point, etc (the usual things that a startup does).

If you have picked, or are going through the process of picking a lawyer or law firm to work with, what criteria did you use or why did you pick the lawyer/firm that you're using?

I realize there will be a bunch of varying opinions about this, but I'd like to hear what other folks have done. Thanks.

[andymoe]

Here is what I did. I got a recommendation from someone I trust who has run (and sold) a few successful businesses. This was years before I started my current venture. Reached out and ask the attorney to read my employment contracts every few years. It only ever took an hour or two of his time for each one and built trust on both sides. (you would be amazed the stuff in employment contracts btw... it's always worth the couple hundred bucks to have them looked over.)

When my partner and I were hashing out our operating agreement it was an easy call to make and the trust was already established. I guess this is not very helpful to your situation since you are already in it but I'd suggest going to someone you trust and asking for a personal recommendation. Someone with experience like ejain said is a good idea as well.

[mattwritescode]

I have worked in two law firms so I will try to give you some insight.

When you first arrange to meet firm X or Y they will send you a couple of their partners. Trust me when I say you will probably never see these people again unless you try to leave the company you are going for.

At the initial meeting listen to all the information they have to say. Ask them about rates, any similar companies to you, what extras they have to offer (sometimes they will offer you massively reduced rates on other legal matters (moving home, wills, etc)).

After this meeting go away think about what they have said. If you liked the partner arrange meeting two. Arrange this in a local coffee shop. Say you are really interested in going with them but you would like to meet the persons handling your case load. Most firms will be more than happy to do this, (some will cringe).

At meeting two if the person there is not a junior case handler then know they have not sent the person handling your case load. Lawfirms (especially big ones) will not hand a small account to a partner or senior case handler. Again ask questions and see if you get a long with them.

After working in a law firm for a couple of years I can tell you there are two types of case handlers. People you will get along with (these people dont generally have there head up there arse) and people you wont (these people generally think they have the biggest go-nads in the room).

[Mankhool]

I read an article on Techvibes written by a lawyer who is interested in working exclusively with startups and SMEs. His website has an online form for Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions quotes. It was very straightforward - you fill in some information about your startup and that's it. He called the next day and got more details. His pricing is great and he is flexible on payment terms for startups. So that's how I became a client . . . if you are in Canada PM me and I'll send you his info. He does incorporations too - although if again, if you are in Canada you can do a Federal Inc online for $200.

[jwb119]

I'm a startup lawyer at one of the big firms in SV.

My recommendation would be to shop around and find someone that you like working with, and most importantly, ask to meet the junior associate that will be doing most of the work for you. Your ideal fit will be a partner that will help you with the big strategic decisions (because they've seen other startups grow) and a junior associate that is responsive and fun to work with.

[27182818284]

Knowing that the price of tall buildings typically grows faster than linear we chose the law firm that occupied multiple floors of the tallest building.

[mcherm]

An interesting approach. It might, however, be optimizing for the wrong thing.

[SuperDuperTango]

I've been talking to friends, and one friend who had a startup said they went for the big guns (Wilson Sonsini, Orrick, Fenwick & West, etc) since they thought it would look better to VCs when they went to get their Series A. That's a criteria I hadn't thought of. What do you think of it?

[ejain]

Where are you located? If possible, pick a lawyer who is used to working with tech startups. Such lawyers will sometimes do free "office hours", which is a good opportunity for you to "interview" the lawyer.

[SuperDuperTango]

I'm in Mountain View, so yeah, i'm in the thick of it.

[JSeymourATL]

I have a preference for lawyers with previous Big Firm experience that have graduated to smaller firm or solo-practitioner status. They typically have a mix of major league seasoning and a certain rugged business acumen.

[marcoalfonso]

If you are in Australia use our service.. lawpath.com.au