Mark Suster, an entrepreneur who is now a GP at GRP Partners in 2007 as a General Partner, has a very informative blog post (How to Work with Lawyers at a Startup) over at his blog, Both Sides of the Table. He discusses the importance of a start-up finding the right lawyer, and provides some useful tips when doing one’s search.
Being a lawyer for many start-ups, it’s always nice to see a non-lawyer emphasize the need for the right legal representation. As I continually tell potential start-up clients, when thinking about legal representation, start-ups should consider it a part of its team-building efforts, just like getting the right management. In addition to Mark’s advice, I would add:
- Make sure the lawyer “gets” what your business/product is trying to do and how it works. A good start-up lawyer will have some understanding about the current marketplace, or, at the very least, has the ability to understand the jargon that you’re throwing at them. A good sign is for the lawyer to be asking you as many questions about your product and business as you’re asking them about legal issues.
- A lawyer should fit your company’s culture and attitude, and complement it rather than conflict with it. Really, a company can only figure this out after working on a few projects with a lawyer, but, during the course of such work, your lawyer doesn’t start to anticipate what your concerns will be, it may be time to start the search for a new one (or, at the very least, broach the subject with the lawyer to see if he/she changes).
- Mark mentions in his blog that most start-up lawyers secretly want to be entrepreneurs, and I think this is spot-on. I know that I tried my hand at a couple of start-ups before moving to law full-time. When searching for a lawyer, start-ups should keep a look out for lawyers and firms that have fostered, and continue to foster, this entrepreneurial attitude.
- Gregg J. Lallier
