Before you meet your first startup lawyer

• The business: what you sell, your company’s stage, where you operate and who else needs to be involved, such as co-founders or your board.
• The decision: what you need to decide or get done (for example, setting up the company, issuing founder equity or reviewing a first customer agreement) and what is currently unclear. Write the business problem in your own words.
• The timing: the real deadline, what drives it and what depends on the answer.
• The documents: list the relevant agreements, prior advice and correspondence. Identify the current version and whether anything has been signed. Ask what the lawyer needs and how to share it before sending sensitive material.
• The first deliverable: what would let you take the next step: a revised agreement, written options or a short list of issues to resolve.
• The budget: your working range and any approval needed before spending more. Mark unknowns as questions.

If you want help organizing the assignment, open Lawtrades Agent, our AI assistant, and start a new chat. Describe the work, timing and desired output in general terms, then ask for a draft project scope to take to a lawyer. Treat the draft as a starting point: the lawyer should advise on the legal decision and agree the scope and fees with you. If you already know the help you need, find a lawyer on Lawtrades and bring this brief directly.

Bring the earlier comments with the latest draft and note who made each one. Comments show what has been discussed; they do not establish that the draft is ready to sign. Ask the lawyer to assess the whole current draft and anything it refers to, not just the points raised before.

Fictional example: a small business plans to use licensed software in a service it sells to customers. Its unsigned draft, earlier comments and a support email leave three points to resolve.

Payment change. The earlier comments requested a new payment schedule and the current draft contains that edit. The business checks that the schedule matches the deal. The lawyer checks how the revised clause fits the rest of the agreement. Status: edit made; review still needed.

Customer use. The business plans to use the software in a service sold to customers. The earlier comments do not establish whether the license covers that use. The business explains its intended use; the lawyer assesses what the draft permits and advises on any changes. Status: coverage unresolved.

Support promise. An email promises ongoing support, but the founder cannot find it in the draft. Include the email. Ask the lawyer to assess the documents together and explain the options. The business decides what support it needs and what it will accept with that advice. Status: promise recorded; contract position unresolved.

Try this example in Lawtrades Agent

Start with the fictional example. To adapt the format, describe your situation in general terms and check the output against your documents. Keep confidential material out of the exercise.

Show a short fictional brief for a lawyer reviewing a software license with earlier comments. Use three items: a requested payment change now appears; use in a service sold to customers is unconfirmed; support is promised by email but missing from the draft. For each give the source, known fact, open question for the lawyer and decision for the business. Give the example first, then offer to adapt it from a general description. Do not give a signing verdict or legal conclusions, contact anyone or post a job.

Open this example in Agent

The lawyer advises on what the documents mean and whether to sign. Agent helps organize the brief; it does not replace that review.

Ask what similar work the lawyer has handled for companies at your stage and in your industry. Who would do your work? What information would they need before recommending an approach? Which parts would require another specialist? If you need an adviser outside their practice, such as an accountant, can they point you to one?

Then ask for a proposal for the first assignment. What is included in the deliverable, and what is outside it? If the work involves a contract, does the proposal cover review only, revisions or negotiation too? The commercial-contract brief can help you describe that assignment.

Ask how the fee is structured, what the estimate assumes and what could change it. Clarify revision rounds, meetings, third-party costs and who must approve additional work. Agree when you will hear about a delay, a new issue or a likely budget change.

Before the call ends, confirm the deliverable, timing and what you need to provide. Get the engagement terms in writing before work begins, and keep broader questions on a separate list so the first assignment stays clear.

Adapted from Lawtrades founder Raad Ahmed’s Questions To Ask Your First Startup Lawyer.