Choosing a legal partner to work with you or your business is one of the most important decisions you’ll make, especially during the first few months. You need somebody who can provide you with honest, helpful advice on law-related matters in your particular industry so you can proceed with confidence and avoid making serious and costly mistakes. The question, of course, is which lawyer to choose.
Fortunately, this review article is here to provide you with some help. We run through a list of some of the top lawyers for entrepreneurs, what they’re best for, when you should use them and our final verdict on who offers the best overall service.
Best for translating complex law into actionable guidance – Cohen Schneider Law, P.C
As an entrepreneur, you probably come across the problem of reading complex legal requirements without knowing how to respond to them. You ask AI chatbots, but they can never really provide you with the definitive conclusions and confidence that you need.
Fortunately, that’s where services like Cohen Schneider Law, P.C. can help. This particular legal partner provides clear, straightforward guidance that drives real-world business success. It has tremendous experience across several verticals, making it the ideal strategic legal partner for your growing firm. It can identify possible pitfalls and roadblocks along the way and adjust your actions today to accommodate and hopefully avoid legal ramifications in the future.
Best for entity formation and basic compliance – LegalZoom
If you’re looking for something much simpler, like entity formation and basic compliance, you might want to look at LegalZoom. This platform is ideal for early-stage entrepreneurs who want to set up their business entity quickly and get on with things.
It provides streamlined services for S corp, C corp, and LLC filings, and you can use registered agent services. It’s highly automated, highly transparent, and widely trusted for basic business processes.
The downside, of course, is that its business model relies on upselling. You may have to pay extra for EIN filing services, and you don’t get strategic ongoing counsel. Those options are simply not available.
Best for document drafting and affordable consultations – Rocket Lawyer
Let’s say your business is operating in the intellectual property space, and you need a lawyer you can go to for guidance on how to navigate some of the trickier issues to do with copyright and trademarking. In that case, you might want to opt for Rocket Lawyer. It provides affordable consultations and can help with:
- Independent contractor agreements
- Employment contracts
- Customized legal documents
It works with standardized processes for all of these, so it can lower prices and provide helpful guidance. The downside is that many of the attorneys assigned to answer questions might not have deep expertise in your particular business model. They may also misunderstand your long-term goals and be unable to pivot strategically depending on your new requirements.
Best for specialised freelance startups – UpCounsel
If you’re looking for independent attorneys as a freelance entrepreneur who has worked at top-tier corporate firms in the past, then you might want to take a look at the platform UpCounsel.
This option is ideal if you have bespoke requirements and you need a specific type of lawyer to assist you in your business enterprise. UpCounsel can connect you quickly with the professional specialists that you need, and you can post jobs and receive bids from lawyers, very similar to other platforms like Fiverr and UpWork.
The best thing about this platform is that it allows you to handpick lawyers who have the background and expertise that matches your requirements. The downside is that the pricing can vary significantly from lawyer to lawyer, and some of the most qualified people for the job may not have sufficient platform reviews and recommendations to give you confidence.
Best for venture capital startups and high growth enterprises – Cooley LLP
As any entrepreneur will know, compliance requirements vary considerably as businesses get larger and grow into different markets. That’s why it’s essential to get contextually relevant legal advice for every stage of the company’s development.
Switching providers is frustrating and time-consuming and involves high search costs. That’s why it’s often better to go to a specialist legal firm that understands how startup law-related requirements change and evolve over time as companies expand.
Cooley LLP can provide legal services from initial funding to when startups eventually go public. It’s currently recognised as the gold standard for high-growth tech and life science startups and provides instant credibility for venture capitalists looking for compliant firms that they can trust and invest in.
The downside, of course, is that Cooley LLP operates a billable-hours pricing scheme. It does not offer fixed-fee or flat-fee services, and because of this, it can drain company resources quickly.
Best for global structuring and digital nomads – Legal Nodes
For brands looking for global structuring options, or for individuals acting as digital nomads, Legal Nodes could be a great legal partner. It offers a virtual legal office subscription model designed for distributed teams. The idea is to consolidate all legal requirements across multiple jurisdictions into a single platform, preventing a fragmented approach to compliance.
Legal Nodes understands the legal landscape in multiple jurisdictions, allowing it to provide bespoke and tailored advice to companies looking for cross-border compliance. Of course, it’s completely overkill for single-location businesses.
Best for intellectual property and brand protection – Trademarkia
Finally, the best option for intellectual property and brand protection is Trademarkia. This company specialises in protecting logos, brand names, and proprietary processes from competitor theft. It provides a platform and an integrated network for easy searching, and offers attorney-led filings and continuous brand monitoring.
The downside, of course, is that its focus is only on your IP. If you need broader strategic legal advice or many other services, you’ll have to go to a second provider, which can make your internal administration more complex.
Final verdict
Ultimately, our top choice for a legal partner to work with you as an entrepreneur has to be Cohen Schneider Law, P.C. This is because it offers bespoke, straightforward advice that is geared towards helping entrepreneurs achieve holistic business success.