Legal Representation: Attorneys may represent startups in various legal matters, such as entity formation, intellectual property protection, and contract negotiations.
Investment and Financing: Attorneys may assist startups in securing funding from venture capitalists, angel investors, or private equity firms.
Compliance and Regulatory Guidance: Startups often need help navigating complex regulatory environments, and attorneys can provide guidance on compliance with local, state, and federal laws.
Risk Management: Attorneys help startups identify and mitigate potential legal risks, such as liability issues and litigation prevention.
Mergers and Acquisitions: Attorneys may be involved in advising startups on mergers, acquisitions, or other strategic business moves.
Business Structure: Details about the startup's legal structure (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, LLC).
Ownership and Equity: Information on the ownership and equity distribution among founders, investors, and other stakeholders.
Financial Information: Financial statements, funding history, and projections to understand the startup's financial health.
Regulatory Compliance: Information on compliance with industry-specific regulations and any pending legal issues.
Document Review: Attorneys review key documents, such as charters and bylaws filed with the State Secretary. These may be behind a paywall.
Third-Party Reports: Attorneys may request reports from accountants, auditors, or other third-party professionals involved with the startup.
Public Records and Litigation: Attorneys may search public records (available on Westlaw and Lexis, but not with an academic subscription) for information on the startup's ownership, and outstanding liens. Litigation history can be found in any database that has U.S. court dockets, eg. Westlaw, Courtlink (on Lexis) and Blomberg Law.
Subscription Databases (Not available through UC Law SF):
Crunchbase: Crunchbase is a comprehensive database that provides information about companies, their funding history, key personnel, and industry trends. It's particularly useful for discovering new startups, tracking funding rounds, and analyzing market trends. Attorneys can use Crunchbase to quickly get an overview of a startup's background, recent activities, and investment details. (Basic profile information is available for free).
PitchBook: PitchBook is a leading provider of data, research, and insights for venture capital, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It offers extensive datasets on companies, investors, deals, funds, and financials. PitchBook provides detailed information on private and public market transactions, including deal structures, valuations, and investor track records. Attorneys use PitchBook to conduct thorough due diligence, source deals, and perform in-depth market analysis.
By leveraging these tools, attorneys can provide comprehensive legal advice and representation to help startups navigate the complex legal landscape and achieve their business goals.
(Check Delaware, companies often incorporate there primarily)
Databases are listed in order of ease of use for this task.
