01
Startup Formation & Structuring
Entity selection, incorporation, founder arrangements, and an initial governance framework, establishing the legal foundation a new venture needs before it raises capital or hires a team.
Corporate & Business Law
Technology & Emerging Companies
Legal support for startups, technology companies, and entrepreneurial ventures: the formation, intellectual property, financing, and regulatory work that lets a young company grow without tripping over the rules that govern it.
A start-up's legal work is judged twice: once when it is done, and again when a lead investor's counsel opens the data room before the Series A. Most of what that reader looks for was settled in the first months.
Founder stock is issued with vesting, so each founder files an 83(b) election within 30 days of the grant; there is no extension, and a missed election makes every vesting date taxable. Every founder, employee and contractor signs an invention assignment, because a contractor's code stays the contractor's until a document says otherwise. Early money usually arrives on post-money SAFEs, which fix an investor's stake at the amount invested divided by the valuation cap, so stacked SAFEs dilute the founders, not one another. The priced round converts the SAFEs into preferred stock, sets an option pool, often 10 to 15 percent and carved from the pre-money valuation, and puts in place the charter, investors' rights and voting agreements.
We handle that sequence as one piece of work. Where a regulator is involved, we have represented clients in matters before the SEC and the IRS.
Where a financing or a regulatory question puts a venture in front of an agency, we have represented clients in matters before the SEC and other authorities, speaking for the companies under review rather than for the regulators. What we build is a sound legal foundation: the right entity, protected innovations, and compliant financings, so the business can scale on footing it can defend.
What we do
Legal services for technology and emerging companies, from formation through scaling, with the regulatory work that runs alongside.
02
Technology Company Counsel
Legal guidance for technology businesses on IP protection, data-privacy considerations, software and licensing terms, and the industry-specific regulations that come with a given sector.
03
Intellectual Property Strategy
Identifying, protecting, and monetizing innovations through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, so a company's most valuable assets are secured before it depends on them.
04
Investment & Funding Support
Legal support for funding rounds, investor relations, and deal documentation, structuring financings so the capital comes in cleanly and the terms hold up through later rounds.
05
Securities Compliance for Ventures
Compliance with the federal and state securities laws that reach ventures raising capital, covering private placements, convertible instruments, and the reporting obligations that follow.
06
Regulatory Compliance for New Ventures
Advice on the operational standards, industry rules, and licensing requirements that apply to a growing business, mapped to the company's specific products and markets.
07
Employment & HR Frameworks
Offer letters, contractor agreements, invention-assignment and confidentiality terms, and equity plans, the employment frameworks that protect the company's innovations and reduce disputes as the team grows.
08
Manufacturing & Product Standards
Guidance on the manufacturing standards, product regulations, and consumer-protection requirements that apply once a venture moves from idea to a product in the market.
What you should know
The realities that shape legal strategy for a technology or emerging company.
01
Structure decisions compound
The entity, ownership, and governance choices made at formation determine how a company raises capital and resolves disputes later, and they are difficult and costly to unwind once a business has grown around them.
02
IP is assigned, not assumed
A technology company owns its code only if the paper says so. Founders assign their pre-incorporation work to the company at formation, and every employee and contractor signs an invention assignment, because a contractor's work is not work made for hire by default. Illinois law limits what an employer may claim in inventions made on an employee's own time, and the agreement has to say so.
03
Securities laws reach fundraising
Securities regulations apply across the board to ventures seeking investment capital, governing private placements, public offerings, and ongoing reporting, so how the money is raised matters as much as raising it.
04
Regulation extends past investing
Employment and anti-discrimination laws, manufacturing and product standards, environmental rules, and consumer-protection requirements all apply, with the specific mix depending on the technology sector and business model.
05
Compliance varies by sector
Industry-specific regulations differ sharply across technology sectors, so a venture needs the frameworks that apply to its own products and operations identified and mapped.
06
The data room is assembled from day one
A Series A lead's counsel asks for the charter, every board and stockholder consent, and a cap table that reconciles to each SAFE and option grant. Then come the 409A valuation behind the strike prices, proof that each 83(b) election was filed, and an invention assignment from everyone who touched the code. A company that can produce it all in a day closes faster.
From term sheet to truth
How this work runs
A company that can survive its own diligence.
- Stage 01
The founder stack
Incorporation, founder stock with vesting, invention assignment, and the 83(b) clock that starts the day shares are issued. Everything signed here is what a lead investor's counsel reads first, so it is drafted to be read.
- Stage 02
IP and code hygiene
Patent, trademark, and trade-secret strategy is set before the product ships, contractor assignments are closed, and open-source licenses are audited so no copyleft obligation sits inside the core repository when diligence opens.
- Stage 03
The priced round
SAFEs and convertible notes reconciled against the cap table, the Reg D exemption and blue-sky filings papered, and the charter, investor-rights, and voting agreements negotiated so the terms still work two rounds from now.
- Stage 04
Scale and the exit posture
Board governance matures, equity plans and 409A valuations stay current, and commercial and data contracts are kept assignment-clean, so when the acquisition or the S-1 conversation arrives, the data room is already true.
Every document a founder signs is eventually read by someone deciding what the company is worth.
30 days
to file an 83(b) election after restricted founder stock is transferred, a deadline with no extension
Frequently asked
Common questions from founders and emerging companies.
What legal foundation does a new technology venture need first?
The foundation is the right entity and a clean ownership structure. Entity formation, founder arrangements, equity allocation, and an initial governance framework determine how a company raises capital, protects its innovations, and handles disputes later. We help founders select and establish a structure suited to their funding plans and growth objectives, then build the contracts and compliance systems the business will rely on as it scales.
Why does intellectual property matter so much for emerging companies?
For a technology company, intellectual property is often the most valuable asset on the books. Innovations must be protected through patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, and the company must respect others' IP rights to avoid resource-draining litigation. We help develop an IP strategy that identifies, protects, and licenses these assets, and that aligns with licensing requirements, software regulations, and industry standards before the company depends on them in a financing or acquisition.
Do securities laws apply to a startup raising money?
Yes. Securities regulations reach every technology or entrepreneurial venture seeking investment capital. Raising money through private placements, convertible instruments, or later public offerings requires careful compliance with federal and state securities laws and ongoing reporting obligations. Where a regulator becomes involved, we represent clients in matters before the SEC and other authorities and help structure financings so the fundraising itself does not create exposure.
What regulatory areas should founders be aware of beyond fundraising?
Regulation does not stop at the investing level. Entrepreneurs need to account for the laws governing intellectual property, operational standards, employment and anti-discrimination requirements, manufacturing and product standards, environmental and consumer-protection rules, and data privacy, among others. The specific mix depends on the technology sector and business model, so we map the frameworks that reach a given company and build its compliance program from that map.
How do employment and HR issues affect early-stage companies?
Employment and anti-discrimination laws apply from the first hire, and early decisions about classification, equity compensation, confidentiality, and IP assignment are difficult to fix later. We help build the employment frameworks, from offer letters and contractor agreements to invention-assignment and confidentiality terms and equity plans, that protect the company's innovations and reduce the risk of disputes as the team grows.
When should a growing company bring in outside counsel?
Earlier than most founders expect. The legal decisions made at formation, at the first financing, and at the first major hire shape what is possible later, and they are far less costly to get right than to unwind. Engaging experienced counsel early helps a venture avoid regulatory pitfalls, protect valuable intellectual property, and structure relationships so the business can scale on a sound footing.
Specific technology matters
Focused counsel for the transactions and code-level questions that emerging companies run into as the technology becomes the business.
Technology Transactions & Licensing
Software, SaaS, IP licensing, and data and AI agreements, drafted and negotiated so the deal protects the company's most valuable assets.
Explore →Open Source Software Counseling
License compliance, OSPO policy, code audits, and copyleft and contribution questions, keeping open-source use clean before a financing or acquisition.
Explore →Related
Adjacent corporate and business-law practices.
Intellectual Property, Licensing & Trademark
Protecting and monetizing intellectual property assets, with patents, trademarks, copyrights, and licensing handled under one strategy.
Explore →Venture Capital
Legal services for venture capital investments, funding rounds, and startup transactions with SEC compliance guidance.
Explore →Strategic Business Planning & Structure
Entity choice and corporate structure, from the Delaware C corporation a venture round will expect to the LLC that suits a founder-funded business, with the conversion path and the qualified small business stock clock worked out before the first share is issued.
Explore →Corporate Governance & Securities Regulation
Board and stockholder governance after a priced round, from protective provisions and board consents to the Form D, blue-sky notices and Rule 701 limits that keep a private company's fundraising and equity grants inside their exemptions.
Explore →Reviewed by Jonathan D. Herpy, Sr., Senior Partner · Last updated October 2026 · Educational overview · Not legal advice