Formation
Incorporating, splitting equity between founders, vesting, and getting the IP where it belongs. Done properly the first time, because unwinding it later is the expensive version.
The part nobody says out loud
An open meter next to a fixed runway.
Founders rarely balk at what a lawyer costs per hour. They balk at not knowing how many hours. That feeling is why ready companies stall at the engagement letter and never sign it. I price the work before I do it, so there is nothing to stall on.
Who you actually get
You hire me. You get me.
I am a solo practice, and that is the point. No partner sells you the work and hands it to someone three years out of law school. The person on the call is the person doing the drafting. I answer in hours. I explain things in plain English. I do not send a memo when a phone call would do.
What I handle
Three things, done properly.
Funding
SAFEs, seed rounds, term sheets, and the closing mechanics. I have read the documents your investors are sending you, and I will tell you which parts actually matter.
The hard conversations
A co-founder leaving. A split that has gone wrong. An exit. The matters where the law is the easy part and the judgement is what you are paying for.
How it works
Three steps, and you can stop after the second.
01
A call
Twenty minutes, free. You tell me what you are trying to do.
02
A scope and a price
In writing, before anything starts. If it is not worth it to you, this is where you walk away owing nothing.
03
The work
At the price we agreed. If the job genuinely changes, we agree the change before I do it.
This is what a scope feels like.
Press and hold. Watch it stop.
It ends where we said it would.
That is the whole promise. The line stops because we agreed where it stops, before it started moving.
Questions
The ones you were going to ask anyway.
Is the price actually fixed, or is it an estimate?
Fixed. An estimate is not a cap and I know it, which is why I do not give one. You get a number and a written scope. If the work changes shape, we agree a new number before I start on it, not after.
What counts as the scope changing?
Something neither of us knew about when we set the price. A second class of shares nobody mentioned. An investor who rewrites the term sheet. I will tell you the moment I see it, and you decide.
How fast do you reply?
Same day on weekdays, usually within a few hours. If your round is closing, say so and I will treat it that way.
You are one person. What if you are away, or sick?
A fair question, and the honest answer is that a solo practice has one calendar. I tell you my availability before you hire me, and if I cannot meet your timeline I will say so on the first call rather than take the work.
Where are you licensed?
Ontario, Canada. If your company is incorporated somewhere else, say so on the first call and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person or whether you need counsel in that jurisdiction as well.
Start here
Tell me what you are building.
Twenty minutes, free, no pitch. If I am not the right fit I will say so and point you somewhere better.
Got it. Your message is in my inbox and I will come back to you the same day.
That did not go through. Something blocked the send, and I would rather you knew than have your message vanish. Write to me directly at andreea@and3law.ca and I will pick it up there.
Your message is ready to send. Your email app should have opened with it already written. Press send there and I will come back to you the same day. If nothing opened, write to me directly at andreea@and3law.ca.