legal-for-founders

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---
name: legal-for-founders
description: >-
  Complete legal playbook for SaaS founders — incorporation (Delaware C-Corp
  vs LLC), IP assignment, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, NDAs, consulting
  agreements, co-founder IP, fundraising legal (SAFE, priced round, board
  consents), and when to hire a lawyer. Step-by-step checklists with YC,
  CooleyGO, Clerky, and Orrick resources. Triggers on: "legal for startup",
  "incorporate", "Terms of Service", "Privacy Policy", "NDA", "SAFE",
  "startup legal", "founder legal basics".
license: MIT
compatibility: Claude Code, Jesse, Codex, Hermes, Windsurf, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Zed, VS Code, Goose
metadata:
  version: "1.0.0"
  author: LeadMagic
  category: founder-led
  tags: [legal, incorporation, terms-of-service, privacy-policy, nda, safe, ip, contracts, compliance, startup-law]
  related_skills: [soc2-compliance, data-privacy-compliance, equity-management, vendor-contracts, employment-compliance, business-insurance, co-founder-dynamics, fundraising-strategy]
  frameworks:
    - "YC Startup Documents (YC SAFE, Series Seed, incorporation docs)"
    - "Clerky — Standard incorporation, equity, and fundraising docs"
    - "CooleyGO — Free startup legal resources (Cooley LLP)"
    - "Orrick — Startup legal toolkit"
    - "Fenwick & West — Startup legal guides"
    - "Alex Macgillivray (Twitter, Google GC) — Platform legal"
---

# Legal for Founders

## Overview

Legal mistakes are the most expensive mistakes in startups — because you don't
discover them until years later, during fundraising, acquisition, or a lawsuit.
The mistake: "we'll fix the legal stuff later." A missing IP assignment can
kill a $100M acquisition. A handshake co-founder deal becomes a lawsuit at
$10M ARR. A copied Terms of Service gets you sued under GDPR. This skill
covers every legal foundation a SaaS founder needs: incorporation, IP,
contracts, privacy, and fundraising legal — with resources to do it right
without spending $50K on lawyers.

## Authoritative Foundations

- **YC Startup Documents (YC SAFE, Series Seed, incorporation docs)** — Startup operating cadence — default alive, talk to users, launch fast.
- **Clerky — Standard incorporation, equity, and fundraising docs** — Standard incorporation, equity, and fundraising docs
- **CooleyGO — Free startup legal resources (Cooley LLP)** — Free startup legal resources (Cooley LLP)
- **Orrick — Startup legal toolkit** — Startup legal toolkit
- **Fenwick & West — Startup legal guides** — Startup legal guides
- **Alex Macgillivray (Twitter, Google GC) — Platform legal** — Platform legal

## When to Use

Trigger phrases: "incorporate startup", "Delaware C-Corp", "startup legal",
"Terms of Service template", "Privacy Policy for SaaS", "NDA template",
"SAFE agreement", "IP assignment", "founder legal checklist", "when to
hire a startup lawyer", "Clerky vs lawyer"

## When to Hire a Lawyer (and When Not To)

**Use standardized docs + AI review (don't need lawyer):**
- Incorporation (Clerky, Stripe Atlas, Firstbase.io)
- SAFE / convertible note (YC templates)
- Terms of Service (generator + review)
- Privacy Policy (generator + review)
- NDA (standard templates)
- Independent contractor agreements
- Offer letters (standard templates)

**Hire a lawyer for:**
- Priced equity rounds (Series A+)
- Acquisition / exit
- Complex IP situations (university IP, prior employer IP)
- Regulatory issues (fintech, healthcare, defense)
- Litigation or threats of litigation
- International entity setup
- Co-founder separation disputes

**How to hire a startup lawyer:**
- Look for: "emerging companies" or "venture capital" practice group
- Good signs: knows what a SAFE is without explanation, bills flat fees
  for standard work, has done 50+ Series Seed/A rounds
- Bad signs: suggests an LLC for a VC-backed startup, talks you out of
  Delaware, bills hourly for incorporation, has never heard of Clerky
- Top firms for startups: Cooley, Fenwick & West, Gunderson, Wilson Sonsini,