

Ask HN: How to find a reliable lawyer/agent to initialize a startup? - lightoverhead

Guys,
I may have a naive question but it concerns me a lot and I cannot find a good answer.
How did you guys find a lawyer&#x2F;agent to initialize your startup? I may want to have a SaaS startup including consulting. But I don&#x27;t know where I can find a lawyer&#x2F;agent helping me register my company, fill all the forms and give me all the legal advice(such as where to register it, delaware or nevada?). I can find some resource online (basically ads from google search). But if there are some reviews or ratings for these lawyers&#x2F;agents . It would be great.
Could you generously share some experience with me regarding this matter?
Thank you very much.
======
tptacek
Do you have a cofounder _today_? If not, just set up a Delaware LLC. You won't
need a lawyer. Corporate agents are something that the LLC registration sites
do for you.

~~~
saturdayplace
Why would one prefer a Deleware LLC over one in their home state?

------
tejasm
In the past, I've used two agencies and have wonderful experience with both of
them.

1\. Ryan Roberts of Roberts Foster -
[http://robertsfoster.com/](http://robertsfoster.com/). He's a wonderful guy
with personalized response to every question you might have. He's knowledgable
and can guide you what state and what entity depending upon your situation.

2\. Harvard Business Services -
[https://www.delawareinc.com/](https://www.delawareinc.com/) \- Reliable and
cheap. You can incorporate in as less as $250 and get started in less than a
week.

I've personally used both the above entities and recommend them.

All the best!

P.S. I'm not affiliated with any of them.

------
archagon
I have a similar issue. Want to start an LLC, don't have any connections, not
entirely comfortable picking a lawyer out of a hat. Interested in seeing the
answers.

(By the way, I heard that incorporating in Deleware/Nevada may not be such a
great idea if you live in California at least, since they still want taxes
from you if you "do business" from there. But I don't really know what "doing
business" entails, which is another great reason to find a competent
lawyer...)

------
kkhire
Check out your local law schools, I've had friends with startups who paid like
a $300 flat fee or something cheap to get all their legal startup advice for
the year. Just make sure that you're not their first customer.

Just a side note, just register as a LLC in your state of residence, it's
cheaper and pretty straightforward to convert to a Delaware C-corp when it
comes time to raise funds from VCs.

------
mahatmamanic
All the people I know have found their lawyers through referrals. The good
news is that there are several great law firms out there that are either doing
incorporations for free, or are deferring costs significantly.

Reach out to the founders, board members, and CEO/COOs you know and ask them
if they have any recommendations. They will almost certainly know someone.

~~~
lightoverhead
Thank you for your quick responses. However, that's the problem for me that I
am lack of connections with CEO/COOs. But I am pretty interested in what you
mentioned that there are several great law firms which provide incorporations
service for free. Could you list some of them for our reference. I think more
people may benefit from such a information. Thank you.

~~~
rahimnathwani
You don't need connections to reach out to startup CEOs. They are visible and
you can easily find or guess their email addresses.

------
rahimnathwani
At the beginning of every Mixergy recording, Andrew Warner recommends that
startups use Scott Edward Walker of Walker Corporate Law.

