What Do Startups Need From Their Lawyers? Solutions, Expertise, Precision…
Whether they rely on in-house attorneys or outside counsel, startups need some pretty specific things from their lawyers, says Debbie Rosenbaum, corporate counsel at cloud-based software startup ThisMoment, who has been sharing her insights with us in our In-House Perspectives series.
Debbie offers useful insight on how – and why – legal process does not need to run contrary to innovation in a startup. For example:
Help Get It Done:
- Nothing makes the marketing folks or the sales team more frustrated than when legal says “no” to a great idea. In fact, saying “no” is the surefire way to ensure that they do not run plans by you in the future.’
Focus Your Expertise
- It is no longer helpful to be a lawyer in “technology”. Focus your consulting – in-house counsel need experts who can assist us with specific questions. We do not need services that are a mile-wide and an inch deep.
Understand Your Audience
- Being able to break down the importance of “termination for convenience” to a salesperson or software-as-a-service to a traditional attorney is not only appreciated by individuals who are trying to get a deal done in their non-native language, but also demonstrates a fluency of concepts that is appreciated by various stakeholders.
Be Brief
- Your peers have no time for legal memos or long-winded explanations. Lead with your answer, provide some reasoning, and call it a day. More contentious issues will obviously require more thoroughly reasoned arguments, but those will often be around a boardroom table, and will not happen through written memoranda.
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The updates:
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