Introduction
This post was originally part of my “Ask the Attorney” series which I am writing for VentureBeat; below is a longer, more comprehensive version. Please feel free to call me directly if you have any questions (415-979-9998). Thanks, Scott
The Market Problem
As I tweeted a couple of days ago, I recently received three telephone calls over a three-day period from entrepreneurs looking for a new law firm because of the excessive fees of their current law firm. Two of the three entrepreneurs advised me that they were reluctant to even call their lawyers with a question because of the fees. I thought to myself: I get it! 15 minutes = $125-175 for most partners (and those phone calls add up).
Introduction
My blog post last week addressed angel financing and included five legal tips for entrepreneurs to help them through the angel financing process. I had intended to post a part 2 (adding five more tips), but I thought I would try something different to break things up a little. Accordingly, below is a brief video of three lessons that I learned in the big-firm trenches as a young corporate associate in New York City.
Oddly enough, I actually look back with fondness on those eight years (including all the all-nighters and weekends working on deals) because of the solid training that I received – which I can finally appreciate practicing law out here in California. Here are the three lessons: (1) do your due diligence; (2) watch-out using forms from other deals or off the web; and (3) create a competitive environment. This is part one of an ongoing series. (Note: videos are tricky and can put some people off; thus, I have also included below the substance of the video in written format.)
Introduction
Yesterday evening, Michael Arrington of TechCrunch posted an interesting piece entitled “TweetPhoto CEO Says Too Much In Interview, Gets Fired. And That’s Just The Beginning…” (which has been subsequently re-posted throughout the blogosphere). Unfortunately, Arrington has gotten his facts all wrong — at least according to Dan Caulfield, the CEO in question.
Arrington sets forth in his post that Caulfield “apparently said too much in [his podcast] interview [with Frank Peters], disclosing confidential information about partnerships [and] was fired by the company for the transgression.” In the comments section to the post, however, Caulfield denied that there was any connection between his firing and the interview. First, yesterday evening, he noted that: “I conducted this interview on [the] Morning of Nov 9th. It had nothing to do with me leaving the company”; and then, this morning, he added that: “I was terminated a week prior to anyone hearing the interview. Events not connected.” Caulfield also retweeted the TechCrunch link to the post yesterday evening with a “Totally false!” insertion. (more…)
I’ve been doing deals as a corporate attorney for over 15 years now, including nearly 8 years in the trenches at two big law firms in New York City. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful for entrepreneurs if I briefly peel back the curtain of the big law firm and explain how these firms work (i.e., the good, the bad, the ugly) so that entrepreneurs can make an informed decision as to whether it makes sense to be working with a big law firm with respect to a particular corporate project. Obviously, some of this is a bit self-serving, but entrepreneurs need to understand that the assumption “the bigger, the better” — i.e., the bigger the law firm, the better the representation — is not necessarily the case. The video version of this post is set forth directly below.
