

Ask HN: Who's your legal counsel? - rymohr

Hey everyone,<p>My startup needs to have some contracts drafted (enterprise and hiring) and possibly apply for some patents.<p>I&#x27;ve looked around but haven&#x27;t found any overwhelming referrals.  All the generic law firm ratings sites are basically useless.<p>So, who do you use? Do you use a firm or an individual? Are you happy with them? Would you recommend them to others?<p>Lastly, any major warning signs to look out for?<p>Thanks!
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rgoksor
Really five go-to firms in the US that I would talk to as a startup: Cooley,
Gunderson, Latham Watkins, Wilson Sonsini, Fenwick. All of them should have
boilerplate agreements that they can help you with for low cost. They should
also have some kind of "deal" for new startups that gives you some basic setup
documents free and defers costs until you get financing.

More important question is to find the right partner/associate to work with.
Your experience will depend more on who you work with than what firm. Ask for
startup references from attorneys. Also, understand who will do the actual
work for you -- law firms leverage associates so the chance that a partner
will do work for you is low and if they do it will be super expensive.

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OafTobark
No Orrick?

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rgoksor
Orrick is a great firm but from my experience they are better for companies
that are later stage. My sense is you have a greater chance of finding a great
startup attorney at one of the other firms.

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sixQuarks
[http://walkercorporatelaw.com](http://walkercorporatelaw.com)

I haven't used them yet, but they are always sponsoring startup podcasts like
This Week in Startups. I called them once to inquire about incorporating one
of my web sites, Steve Walker answered the phone, answered a bunch of my
questions, and quoted me a price that was on the lower end of prices that I
got from other lawyers I contacted.

Again, I haven't actually used them yet, but I will when the time comes.

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rymohr
Walker sounds promising to me too. I had found them earlier and saw Neil Patel
(founder of KISSmetrics) put it a good word for them.

Surprised more firms don't include customer testimonials.

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motionman
I use an individual I grew up with who just happens to now be at a decently
large firm. I agree with you, though. We went through some discussions with
other firms before choosing them and others are either too expensive or too
hard to get a hold of.

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motionman
Also, watch out for charging a lot for a boilerplate document, such as an
operating agreement or a new hire agreement. We've had firms do that to us
before we got settled with current firm.

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rymohr
Mind sharing what firm you're using?

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motionman
Not in this forum. A little new to hacker news posting, is there a private
message feature?

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jamesbritt
No. Some people add contact info to their profiles, though.

