When to Hire a Startup Attorney (And When Google Is Enough)
I'll be direct: you don't need a lawyer for everything. And if you're paying $500/hour to have an associate review a standard YC SAFE that didn't need reviewing, you're wasting money. But there are moments — specific, high-stakes moments — where an attorney is the difference between a clean close and a problem that surfaces at your Series A. Here's the honest framework.
The General Rule
Hire an attorney when the cost of getting it wrong exceeds the cost of hiring someone. Legal mistakes in startups tend to compound. A bad SAFE provision that seems minor today can create cap table disputes in 18 months. An improperly documented option grant can create tax liability for an employee who didn't know they'd owe the IRS.
When Google + Templates Is Genuinely Enough
- First incorporation (C-Corp, Delaware) — Clerky or the YC startup incorporation package handle standard incorporations cleanly.
- Single SAFE with standard terms and no negotiation — If an investor sends you a YC post-money SAFE with no modifications under $1M, use the template as-is.
- Founder equity splits (first time, no complications) — Two founders, no previous companies, equal split? Template is fine.
- Basic NDA with a vendor or small contractor — Standard mutual NDA, no trade secrets at risk.
- Basic Terms of Service for a pre-revenue product — Termly or TermsFeed generate reasonable ToS for early-stage products.
When You Need an Attorney — Non-Negotiable
- Series A (or any priced round above $1M) — Term sheets involve preferred stock with complex rights, negotiations requiring legal knowledge of what's standard vs. aggressive, and board governance provisions affecting how you run the company for 5 years.
- Negotiated investor terms — If your investor is proposing SAFE modifications — custom caps, governance rights, board seats — you need an attorney.
- Option pool creation and first employee grants — ISO vs. NSO, 83(b) elections, AMT considerations all have real tax implications.
- Acqui-hire or M&A conversations — Get an attorney involved immediately. Even informal conversations.
- Equity disputes with cofounders — Not a template problem. Get an attorney.
- IP assignment from contractors or early employees — If someone built code without signing an assignment agreement, that IP might not belong to you.
- Multi-party cap table with SAFEs from different investors — Multiple SAFEs at different caps, discounts, and MFN provisions need expert modeling before Series A.
The Gray Zone: Cases Where It Depends
- Bridge financing / convertible note — Single investor, standard terms? Maybe template. Multiple investors, 2-year maturity? Get legal review.
- Advisory shares / small option grants — One or two grants with standard vesting is fine. Formal advisor program with meaningful equity needs review.
- International investors — Cross-border legal issues are complex enough to require an attorney with cross-border experience.
- First product with paying customers — B2B contracts can contain IP assignment clauses, warranty provisions, and indemnification language with real consequences.
What Quality Legal Review Looks Like
Good legal review: Answers your specific question in 20 minutes. Flags the 2–3 provisions that actually matter. Tells you clearly: "This is fine as-is" or "This clause needs to change." Gives you a flat fee upfront.
Not good legal review: Sending you a 40-point comment document on a standard YC SAFE. Billing by the hour without a cap. Not answering the question you asked.
At Robaer AI, most SAFE reviews are done in 30–60 minutes. I tell you what matters and what doesn't. If it's clean, I say so.
The Cost Comparison
| Task | DIY / Template | Startup Attorney |
|---|---|---|
| First incorporation | $0–$500 | $1,000–$2,500 |
| Single standard SAFE | $0 | $500–$1,500 |
| Negotiated SAFE (multi-party) | N/A | $2,500–$5,000 |
| Series A (term sheet + docs) | N/A | $5,000–$15,000 |
| Option plan + first grants | $0–$300 | $1,000–$3,000 |
| M&A or acqui-hire | N/A | $15,000–$50,000+ |
My Take
The best founders I work with know when to call me — and when not to. They don't over-lawyer their seed round. They don't under-lawyer their Series A. They treat legal as infrastructure: invest when the stakes justify it, not something you automate or ignore.
If you're raising a priced round, negotiating investor terms, issuing options, or selling the company — hire an attorney. If you're doing a standard SAFE with a standard investor and your cap table is clean — a template might be enough. Not sure? That's what a 15-minute call is for.
Questions about whether you need legal help for your specific situation? Most founders figure this out in 15 minutes.
Book a free 15-minute intro call with Attorney Courtney Logan
Bottom Line
Not sure if you need a lawyer? That's not a question you should guess on. Book a free 15-minute intro call with Attorney Courtney Logan — I'll tell you what you actually need.