Software executes.
The facts are complete, the terms are standard, the approvals are in place. A board consent within the plan. The Delaware annual report. An NDA on your own form.
✓Executed end to endWhen outside counsel steps in
Software where it’s enough. Lawyers where it matters.
Routine work runs as software. When a matter needs judgment, you see the attorney, the scope and the fee before work starts.
Execution levels · Green / Yellow / Red
Every matter arrives with its level already decided.
Green runs as software. Yellow brings in outside counsel before execution. Red hands the lead to a specialist firm — and the level is on the matter before anything happens.
Outside counsel confirms.
One question needs deciding first — a clause outside your approved positions, or something the company is doing for the first time. The matter is prepared, then outside counsel confirms.
▲Confirmed, then executedA specialist firm leads.
A priced Series A. A dispute with a former employee. The matters where the stakes are the company itself — a specialist firm leads, with the matter fully prepared and the fee quoted first.
◆Led by a specialist firmKnowing which matters need a lawyer is the job. That is what the subscription buys.
How engagement works
The attorney, the scope, the fee — before work starts.
No retainer, no meter running, no invoice you have not already read. Outside counsel is engaged directly by you.
Matter · prepared · awaiting your approval
Customer agreement asks for an uncapped IP indemnityThe rest was negotiated against your approved positions. This clause sits outside them — a judgment call.
▲Yellow · judgment
ATTORNEYMei Tanaka — commercial contracts, admitted in California, named on the matter
CLIENTNorthwind Robotics, Inc.
PREPAREDThe agreement, your approved positions, 3 prior indemnity precedents, and the company record
OPEN Qs2 — an acceptable cap on the indemnity; a carve-out for third-party claims
SCOPEMark up the indemnity clause, plus one round of negotiation
FEE$900 flat for this scope, quoted in writing before any work begins
Nothing starts and nothing bills until you approve.
Decline
Approve engagement
Illustrative handoff. Northwind Robotics is fictional; scope and fees vary by matter, attorney and jurisdiction.
Who they are
Independent attorneys chosen for the matter — outside securities counsel for a financing, outside employment counsel for a termination. Already work with a firm? It stays yours.
What they see
The facts, the documents, the record behind them, and the exact questions to decide. Outside counsel starts at judgment instead of reconstruction.
What you see
Quoted before work starts. Declining costs nothing; a change of scope stops the work and gets you a new quote.
What comes back
The decision lands in your record with the reasoning attached. The next matter of the same shape starts from a settled position.
You will never get a legal bill you did not approve.
Outside-counsel fees are quoted and approved before work starts. Government and filing fees pass through at cost. See pricing →
The nine triggers
Judgment is a feature, not a failure mode.
Every matter is screened before anything executes. Any one of these nine stops the software and brings in outside counsel.
01Novel questionThe company is facing it for the first time, and no position is on record.
02Adverse partySomeone on the other side has a lawyer, a demand, or interests against yours.
03RegulatorA government agency is asking, auditing or investigating.
04Litigation riskThe matter could plausibly end up in front of a judge.
05Priced securitiesPriced equity is being sold — a Series A term sheet is not standard paper.
06Ambiguous factsThe record honestly supports two readings, and the difference matters.
07Conflicting recordsTwo documents disagree about the same fact, and both are signed.
08Jurisdiction edgeThe matter crosses into a state or country outside supported endpoints.
09Founder overrideYou want a lawyer on it. Asking is always enough.
The legal department every startup should have.
Find your gaps before someone else does.
Four minutes. Free. You keep the report either way.