Comments on: How to Work with Lawyers at a Startup http://www.cloudave.com/918/how-to-work-with-lawyers-at-a-startup/ Software in Business. The Business of Software. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:09:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Cary Platkin http://www.cloudave.com/918/how-to-work-with-lawyers-at-a-startup/#comment-3218 Cary Platkin Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:12:59 +0000 http://www.cloudave.com/link/how-to-work-with-lawyers-at-a-startup#comment-3218 I'm a small firm, tech licensing lawyer with a SaaS focus, in the Bay Area. There are a lot of articles about how to be a good lawyer - but this is a great article about how to be a good client. Know what you need from your lawyer, work with start-up focused attorneys, set expectations early and often, hold on to work you can do yourself, and really own your deals without sticking your head in the sand on "legal" issues. These are great tips and really help ensure you'll be happy with your counsel. Two tips I would add: (1) don't assume you'll want to work with every lawyer at your corporate counsel's law firm. Just because you hired the big national law firm for financing, set up and M&A, doesn't mean you have to use the same expensive firm for disputes, HR, contracts, leases, trademarks & patents, etc. Save money using the huge marketplace of small to medium sized firms that can do as-good or better work at FAR lower rates. (2) Another self-serving tip, but I really believe there is a difference between career outside counsel and attorneys who have had significant inside counsel experience. Lawyers who have worked in-house are more likely to get things done the way you expect them to. In most cases, they communicate better, negotiate better, find better solutions, etc., because they deeply understand the dynamics and pace of business. This distinction is especially true with younger associates at big law firms - it's hard to meet client expectations when (1) you don't know what you don't know, and (2) you're covering your ass on every single issue with the client AND your partner. Cary Platkin Founder, Platkin Law San Mateo, California I’m a small firm, tech licensing lawyer with a SaaS focus, in the Bay Area. There are a lot of articles about how to be a good lawyer – but this is a great article about how to be a good client. Know what you need from your lawyer, work with start-up focused attorneys, set expectations early and often, hold on to work you can do yourself, and really own your deals without sticking your head in the sand on “legal” issues. These are great tips and really help ensure you’ll be happy with your counsel.

Two tips I would add:

(1) don’t assume you’ll want to work with every lawyer at your corporate counsel’s law firm. Just because you hired the big national law firm for financing, set up and M&A, doesn’t mean you have to use the same expensive firm for disputes, HR, contracts, leases, trademarks & patents, etc. Save money using the huge marketplace of small to medium sized firms that can do as-good or better work at FAR lower rates.

(2) Another self-serving tip, but I really believe there is a difference between career outside counsel and attorneys who have had significant inside counsel experience. Lawyers who have worked in-house are more likely to get things done the way you expect them to. In most cases, they communicate better, negotiate better, find better solutions, etc., because they deeply understand the dynamics and pace of business. This distinction is especially true with younger associates at big law firms – it’s hard to meet client expectations when (1) you don’t know what you don’t know, and (2) you’re covering your ass on every single issue with the client AND your partner.

Cary Platkin
Founder, Platkin Law
San Mateo, California

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