Preparing for your in-person consultation
How to get the most from your consultation with prospective lawyers.
Preparing for a fractional general counsel interview is crucial to ensuring that you find the right fit for your startup.
Here are some steps to help you prepare before your interview:
Research the candidate: Look into their background, experience, and areas of expertise. Check their LinkedIn profile, any articles they've written, and any testimonials from past clients.
Organize your startup's legal needs: Understand your current and anticipated legal requirements. This could include areas like contracts, compliance, intellectual property, employment law, and fundraising.
Identify your expectations and budget: Consider the level of involvement you expect from the general counsel and what you can afford to pay for their services. If you are anticipating paying in equity, know that some lawyers still might require a small hourly fee. See if they'll give you an idea about what form of compensation is best for them, and whether they'd provide large discounts in hourly fees for equity.
During the interview, be ready to provide:
An overview of your startup, including its mission, products/services, and market.
Your current legal representation status, if any, and any pressing legal concerns or issues.
Your expectations for the fractional general counsel's role and responsibilities. Keep in mind that your interviewee may not be an expert in all fields, and will need to work with other lawyers to fulfill many of your needs. However the purpose of the fractioal lawyer is to ensure you are doing this correctly and effectively.
Ask the following questions to evaluate their competency and work style:
What is your experience working with startups, particularly in our industry?
Can you provide examples of your experience handling legal issues similar to our startup's needs?
How do you approach risk management for startups? You'll want someone who understands startups are not risk-averse ventures; however, you'll also want to make sure they're not to nonchalant regarding risk. Legal mistakes are costly!
What is your experience with negotiating contracts and agreements? Researching regulatory issues in our industry (or any industry)?
Do you have outside counsel contacts for matters that are outside of your subject matter expertise? Don't worry too much about this, because HeyCounsel does provide platform attorneys with a strong network of partner firms and referred firms.
Realistically, what is your availability on a weekly basis? Legal needs are not always predictable, sometimes you might not need help for a few weeks, and some weeks you might need a lot. Are they comfortable with this arrangement?
What would you need from us in terms of communication and expectations to ensure a smooth and predictable relationship and workload?
By asking these questions and evaluating the candidate's responses, you can make an informed decision about whether they are a good fit for your startup's legal needs. For more info on evaluating lawyers, check out this help article.
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