What does a startup lawyer actually do for founders?
Short answer: Formation (entity, founder agreements, IP assignment), growth-stage commercial and employment contracts, and fundraising hygiene (SAFEs or priced rounds, cap table, diligence readiness) — usually as fixed-fee outside general counsel.
At formation: entity choice and setup (usually Delaware C-corp for venture-track companies, LLC for others), founder agreements with vesting, and IP assignment so the company actually owns what the founders build. During growth: commercial contracts (customer agreements, vendor terms, NDAs), employment and contractor agreements, and privacy compliance. At fundraising: SAFEs or priced rounds, cap table hygiene, and diligence readiness.
The failure mode isn't usually a missing document — it's founders discovering at diligence that IP was never assigned or a co-founder left with unvested equity. Jacobs Counsel runs this as fixed-fee outside general counsel for startups, sized to stage.
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Updated July 2, 2026. General information only — not legal advice for your specific situation. For advice on your facts, book an intro call.