San Francisco Startup Attorneys & Lawyers
How it Works
Brig Ricks
Michael Mowery
Monica Winghart
.jpg)
Damian Guzman
Liz Oliner
Joshua Garber
.jpg)
Rhea De Aenlle
Jesko Onken
Mark Foster
Eric Milliken
San Francisco Startup Lawyers
Legal Tips and Information
Starting Up Your Game Changing Company in San Francisco
The Basics
Known for the Golden Gate Bridge, 60’s peace movements and the 49ers, the world class city of San Francisco is also known as the home to some of the hottest startups in the country. As any good businessperson will tell you, your new business needs a startup lawyer as sharp as your enterprise. A small business law firm will focus on technical legal requirements needed to successfully form your business enterprise while you focus on conquering the world.
When you search for the best law firm for startups in the City by the Bay, focus your search looking for a practice that has a new business lawyer that understands all those local, state and federal requirements that need attention. We can’t focus on everything, and as a startup founder you want to have your eyes on making your business model a success while your business law firm handles all those details ensure your success is protected.
If your company has an idea, technology or device that needs to be protected by a patent, you don’t want to go it alone. Dealing with the patent process is best left to a high caliber ip lawyer from the bay area. These attorneys know the ins and outs of the complicated patent process and will make sure that the process goes smoothly from start to finish. Prices for a specialty business lawyer in San Francisco will vary, but an investment in a lawyer that will protect your rights in patent, copyrights and trademarks is an investment in the future success of amazing, game changing San Francisco based startup company.
The Money
So you’re on your way to startup success in The City. Unless you’ve been blessed with wealth or have an unnatural desire to take out even more debt on your credit cards, what you need now is an investment source. Venture capitalists, angel investors, everyday folks who will go and fund you- all great sources of business capital. The question is, how do you make it work?
Like developing your idea, the gathering of your financial resources is a process. As you through that process of gathering those precious financial resources, it’s important to decide what you intend to do with them. Will your investors be simply that and expect only a return on their investment? Or will your financial backers be stakeholders that become your partners at some level? All of these questions can be answered with the help of business attorney from San Francisco. A business law firm is just that- a place where business lawyers in San Francisco focus on, you guessed it – setting up and managing your business. Your partner in financial success, your business law firm will help guide your fundraising process and help you avoid the catastrophic missteps and pitfalls that can be associated with accepting someone else’s money.
By now you’ve figured out that whatever it is that your startup does, it’s important. It’s just as important to decide how your financing will be structured and what that financing will mean to your operations. Your new business lawyer will help you decide how to best structure your capital to ensure that you find success and that your financial backers get exactly what they bargained for when they gave you that big (or little) check.
Achieving Success
We all go into business knowing that what we want to do will be important and change the world, even if it’s just one little piece. You’ve crafted your idea, found your investors and are well on your way. Now what?
Now you want to make sure that your new business is poised to take you where you want to go. Do you plan to hire new employees? Offer profit sharing? Sell to that giant world-wide competitor? In order to help make these decisions, it’s important to consult your legal expert.
Time to turn back to that top notch business lawyer in San Francisco that you’ve been working with (you have been working with her, right?) If you haven’t, no better time than now to find a business law firm that can structure your startup for success in the long term. Just as you’ve taken the time to develop your idea, brand and message, you need to develop your plans for future success.
A business attorney in San Francisco will have the information and tools you need to make the smart decisions that will support your goals. You don’t want your startup to derailed because you didn’t really understand the difference between an exempt and non-exempt employee for purposes of overtime, or find out the hard way that the person you thought was a 1099 independent contractor is really your employee. Maybe you’ve decided it’s time to pay off those investors a little early, or that business investor that wanted that management role has become a little too involved. These situations are common in all businesses but especially in startups. Engaging a startup lawyer in San Francisco that knows the City, understands your business and knows the rules of legal road will help keep your startup on the path to long term success.
Why use UpCounsel to hire a San Francisco Startup Attorney?
Average experience
You always get experienced professionals and high caliber work.
Faster
Your work gets done quickly because professionals are always available.
More cost effective
We use technology to cut traditional overhead and save you thousands.
UpCounsel has been talked about in:
Legal Services Offered by Our On-Demand San Francisco Startup Attorneys
On UpCounsel, you can find and connect with top-rated San Francisco startup attorneys & lawyers that provide a range of startup law services for startups and entrepreneurs that are starting a business. Any of the top-rated San Francisco startup lawyers you connect with will be available to help with a variety of your startup law related legal needs on-demand or on an ongoing basis in the city of San Francisco, CA.
From primarily dealing with things like business formation, contracts, leases, equity financing, securities, and intellectual property protection, the San Francisco startup lawyers on UpCounsel can help you with a variety of specialized and general startup law related legal matters. No matter what type of startup law needs you have, you can easily hire an experienced San Francisco startup lawyer on UpCounsel to help you today.
Improve Your Legal ROI with Affordable Startup Attorneys that service San Francisco, CA.
What Our Customers Have to Say
"UpCounsel gives me access to big-firm lawyers minus the big-firm price tag. I work with several attorneys on the platform and there are never surprises...I always receive quality legal work at competitive rates that larger firms simply cannot match."
"Every startup needs to know about UpCounsel. We found great attorneys at great prices and were able to focus our resources on improving our business instead of paying legal bills."
"Before UpCounsel it was hard for us to find the right lawyer with the right expertise for our business. UpCounsel solves those problems by being more affordable and helping us find the right lawyer in no time."
This is the most recent 20 reviews out of 271 reviews for Business Operations attorneys in California
Changes in Officers
"Jon the most accurate and efficient lawyer I've ever worked with, and 2nd place isn't close."
Andrew I
.
Chula Vista,
CA,
7 days ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"I've worked with many attorneys, and Yvenne is THE BEST! Top notch legal work from a highly organized person who meets deadlines and bills for hours in a fair and reasonable manner. I fully endorse hiring her for your legal needs."
Richard L
.
Auburn,
CA,
2 months ago
Outside General Counsel
"Highly recommend Jake"
Anand N
.
Palo Alto,
CA,
5 months ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Eric is an outstanding attorney. He has a wide range of knowledge. My particular case involved the pharmaceutical industry which he knew a lot about, but he was able to assist in other areas as well. Do not hesitate to hire Eric. I will be using him again."
Curtis M
.
Santa Barbara,
CA,
5 months ago
Assist with Outside General Counsel
"Great work. Responsive and helpful!"
Nima A
.
San Diego,
CA,
5 months ago
Outside General Counsel
"Erin was quick, efficient, and delivered exactly what we needed!"
Daniel R
.
Pleasanton,
CA,
6 months ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Alex is great to work with and very keen on current trends and markets."
Davis W
.
Los Angeles,
CA,
6 months ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Alisha was super flexible with helping me get the contracts I needed"
Eve W
.
Lincoln,
CA,
7 months ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Quick, effective and empathetic, I'd highly recommend Seth."
Ramya S
.
Fremont,
CA,
8 months ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Dean has been great to work with. He is patient and helpful and always there when needed. Thank you Dean!"
Elise H
.
Sacramento,
CA,
10 months ago
Outside General Counsel
"Marina is timely, thorough, and most importantly, direct. I will happily work with her again."
Rajeev R
.
San Jose,
CA,
12 months ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Michael was very helpful, communicative, and thorough in helping us establish a 501(c)3, and we would definitely recommend his services. My wife and I recently started the process of forming a nonprofit, but we didn’t know of any lawyers who could help us set up the organization. We found Michael through an inquiry on UpCounsel; we picked him because he seemed very knowledgeable about the process, he responded to us promptly, and his quote was fair and reasonable. Michael walked us through all the steps we would need to complete, explaining what parts he would take care of and what we would need to do. He patiently answered all of our many questions quickly and respectfully, and he efficiently generated the forms we needed to submit. He sent us drafts of all the documents prior to submitting them so we could provide any necessary feedback. Once we’d finished the initial steps, he sent us a very professional binder containing our founding documents and a corporate seal. Once we received our tax-exempt status, he gave us clear guidance regarding the steps we would need to complete in years to come to maintain good standing as a nonprofit. Working with Michael was pleasant and productive, and we were very satisfied with the work he did on our behalf. Thank you, Michael, for all your help!"
Alex G
.
Huntington Beach,
CA,
about 1 year ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Great person to work with."
Indranil R
.
Fremont,
CA,
about 1 year ago
Outside General Counsel Services
"I found Chelsie to be a great communicator and very efficient. Highly recommended."
Alex G
.
San Francisco,
CA,
over 1 year ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Michael is a fantastic attorney who takes the time to understand our business and has our back legally. I will definitely be working with him again."
Andrew S
.
Rancho Santa Margarita,
CA,
over 1 year ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Professional and knowledgeable."
Babak G
.
San Diego,
CA,
over 1 year ago
Assist with Outside General Counsel
"Thanks for your help Sam!"
Aaron C
.
San Francisco,
CA,
over 1 year ago
Assist with Outside General Counsel
"Daniel and Quinn did a good job at understanding what we were looking for and were able to give us the advice that we needed."
David P
.
Oakland,
NJ,
over 1 year ago
Consult on Outside General Counsel
"Very satisfied & plan on hiring him for future work when needed."
Valerie K
.
Ridgecrest,
CA,
over 1 year ago
Assist with Outside General Counsel
"Brig provided exactly what we needed in a timely, professional manner."
Sam C
.
Los Angeles,
CA,
over 1 year ago
Related Articles
Accelerator Programs: What Are They?
Accelerator programs, also known as seed accelerators, help companies learn how to run their business by providing mentoring, education, and financing. Mentors are provided to help entrepreneurs navigate the competitive and sometimes confusing start-up world and may even help with funding. The programs usually last for relatively short period of time (e.g., a few months) where the aim is to teach the participant several years’ worth of experiences and information in order to accelerate the timeline for success. The program typically ends with a public pitch event where business owners can present their ideas to potential investors. Accelerators generally ask for a small piece of the company in return.
Accelerators are similar to business incubators with some distinctions -- for example, incubators generally focus on growing an idea while accelerators generally
...
Read MoreDBA California
- 8 min read
The law states that a DBA California filing is required when sole proprietors, partnerships, limited liability companies, or corporations want to do business.
Registering a DBA California allows your company to operate under a different name than what was used at the time of formation. Your company's reputation is everything. Your choice of a name will be the foundation of your brand and your business relationships. There are many reasons why you might want to start with a clean slate and choose a “doing business as,” commonly called a DBA name, other than your own name or the name you originally registered with the California Secretary of State.
Registering a DBA name allows you the right to operate a business under any name other than the legal name of the company or individual. Making this important name change can be straightforward, but there are several hoops to jump through and many considerations along the way to get there.
...
Read MoreKey Takeaways:
- Definition and Importance: Right of first offer (ROFO) allows a specified party to make the first bid when an asset is being sold or leased, reducing market listing times and brokerage fees for sellers while giving holders a prime opportunity to acquire.
- Real Estate and Business Use: ROFO is common in commercial real estate and business sales, particularly beneficial in tenant-landlord and business partnership scenarios.
- Legal Considerations: Clearly defined terms in a ROFO contract, including timeframes, pricing, and sale conditions, are crucial to avoid misunderstandings. Legal assistance is recommended to ensure the contract is equitable and enforceable.
- Advantages vs. Disadvantages: ROFO offers stability for tenants and fast sales for landlords but lacks the strength of the right of first refusal (ROFR), which deters third-party bids.
- Practical
...
Read More