Brooklyn Startup Lawyer
Brooklyn has rapidly become a center of innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups in New York. These new businesses create jobs and drive economic recovery, while providing needed services and solving problems.
The scientific and tech sector continues to thrive in Brooklyn, with 119% more jobs than in 2010, and new investments to inspire further innovation, like funding of a new Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
Entrepreneurs are the visionaries who drive economic growth and create innovative solutions, and they know that no new venture comes without risk. However, there are important ways to mitigate that risk, protecting yourself and your business from avoidable pitfalls. One of the best ways to avoid risk and protect a new business is to consult with a Brooklyn startup lawyer.
What Is a Startup Lawyer and What Do They Do?
A startup lawyer is an attorney who has experience working with founders and innovators. Startup lawyers have a combination of very specific skills related to specialized areas like venture capital or IPOs and general skills for legal areas common to all businesses, like taxes, employment, and contract law. They can provide advice and strategic guidance on business formation to eventual sale or acquisition, and everything in between. Some of the specific areas that a startup lawyer can help with include:
Business Type and Formation
There are many different possible business and corporation types, and each has specific legal and tax implications for your business. Choosing what type of business you create and where the business is registered is a crucial decision that is best made with legal advice. A startup lawyer can also assist with the necessary forms and documentation, ensuring that your business is registered correctly and can do business as intended.
Guidance in Relevant Regulation and Compliance Requirements
Every type of new business is subject to various rules and requirements, and not all founders are aware of all the relevant regulations. A new founder should seek legal advice to ensure that they are in compliance with all the various regulations that apply to their business and have a plan for ongoing reporting, documentation, and other compliance procedures.
Intellectual Property Protection
From a graphic logo to a new technology, intellectual property protections exist to support innovators and guard their interests. However, the process of seeking and applying for relevant trademarks, patents, and copyrights can be extremely time-consuming and difficult, with a host of legal issues and implications. A startup lawyer can provide advice on protecting your intellectual property and can also ensure that your brand’s proprietary assets are protected.
Real Estate Matters
While many of the world’s greatest brands were launched from a garage or home office, eventually your company will require suitable space to work and grow. Whether leasing or buying, Brooklyn real estate agreements can be highly complex and subject to a huge range of clauses and restrictions that should be negotiated. A Brooklyn startup lawyer understands the various property types and contract terminology used in New York real estate deals and can help you find the right commercial space with the right terms for your needs.
Contracts and Agreements
Every business requires a broad range of contracts and agreements, from partnership or employment contracts to non-disclosure agreements and vendor or service agreements. A startup lawyer will help create the contracts that protect your interests or negotiate the best terms possible with your business partners.
Securing Venture Capital and Financing
A good Brooklyn startup lawyer is well-connected in the financial world and can help advise and guide a startup through the process of seeking venture capital and other types of investment. In addition, many investors rely on a startup having an attorney during their due diligence process, as it reduces their risk. Finally, when seeking bank loans and other forms of financing, a startup lawyer can represent your firm and help you get the resources you need to grow.
Strategy for Eventual Sale or IPO
Many entrepreneurs have their end goal in sight from the very beginning, and working with a startup lawyer can help guide your company’s growth and development toward eventual acquisition. On the other hand, if you are considering going public, a startup lawyer can help you prepare for that step, avoiding the most common pitfalls and creating a successful offering.
Outside General Counsel
Finally, your Brooklyn startup lawyer can act as an outside general counsel, assisting with a range of issues, including taxes, employment, compensation, operations, and other legal matters as they arise.
In other words, a startup lawyer is essential for founders who want to validate their business plan and have a smart strategy from the very beginning. Startup lawyers are versatile and helpful, with a range of knowledge and abilities to help an entrepreneur at every phase of growth.
Why Do I Need a Brooklyn Startup Lawyer?
The primary reason why an entrepreneur should consult with a startup lawyer is to validate their business plan and receive strategic guidance. A startup attorney who understands your industry, your idea, and your objectives, can alert you to relevant risks, opportunities, or challenges that lie ahead.
A good startup lawyer will help you form and structure your business from the very beginning in a way that mitigates risk and makes it easier for you to achieve your goals, whether that means registering the right type of business, structuring ownership or partnership agreements to prevent disputes, planning operations and processes that ease eventual acquisition, establishing systems that attract investment and venture capital, or creating employee and vendor contracts that protect your interests.
Every business is unique, and every business owner is unique, so relying on online forms, templates, and flowcharts to make critical decisions is not the way to go. Find a startup lawyer who will partner with you for long-term, customized, strategic guidance.
Different Methods of Working with a Startup Lawyer
Not all startups can afford a full-time staff attorney from their launch date. Instead, most choose different methods of working with an attorney or law firm that evolves over time as their needs change. There are a number of different ways that companies can work with a lawyer and different ways to keep legal costs affordable for small businesses. Here are some different methods:
- Seek a free consultation. Many Brooklyn startup lawyers will offer a free initial meeting or consultation to discuss a specific situation or get legal advice. These consultations are better for meeting with an attorney and getting a feel for them and their practice than for solving specific legal challenges, but they can be helpful and don’t affect your budget.
- Pay an hourly rate. If you have identified a startup lawyer who you like and want legal services from time to time as the need arises, offer to pay their hourly rate. This allows you to pay for only the services you use and avoid ongoing legal costs when you don’t have the need.
- Pay a project fee. If you have a large project that requires extensive legal services (for example, you need to register several patents or trademarks, you need to negotiate a real estate or lease agreement, etc.), ask your attorney if they will agree to a single project rate. This allows you to complete the entire project at once and receive legal support for the duration of the task.
- Place a lawyer on retainer. Putting a startup lawyer on retainer simply means paying for legal services ahead of time and then using those services when the need arises. This method may allow you to factor legal services into a quarterly or annual budget and access legal help as needed.
- Hire fractional counsel. Having fractional counsel simply means that you have an attorney or law firm who works for you on a part-time basis and who also works for other clients. This solution allows you to have regular, ongoing legal counsel for a range of legal questions and issues without the costs of a full-time lawyer or legal team.
Finally, remember that independent or boutique attorneys and law firms are usually more affordable and have more freedom to negotiate rates and agreements than large, prestigious firms. A small firm may also provide more bespoke, individual services based on your needs.
How Can the Fridman Law Firm Help?
At the Fridman Law Firm, our startup legal team empowers entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams and partners with them to promote their success. Our experience with startups, including business formation, capital raising, and mergers and acquisitions, will help your Brooklyn business thrive. Contact us online or call 212-262-9823 today for more information.