Trusted legal
services for
builders, uncomplicated.
Founders have enough on their plate. We step in to be there for anything you need.
Outside General Counsel
A true extension of your in-house legal team.
Our Outside General Counsel group is designed to operate as a true extension of your in-house legal team. We provide embedded, flexible, and highly responsive legal support to companies in various industries on an ongoing and often daily basis. Our attorneys have previously worked at global law firms like Kirkland & Ellis LLP and in-house at high-growth technology companies like Databricks. We know what it takes to build trust and facilitate growth by empowering clients to move fast and arrive at “yes.” The end result is a full-service outside legal department that can seamlessly support your day-to-day legal needs like commercial contracting, corporate matters, employment counseling, IP ownership, product and data privacy concerns, and litigation.
Startup & Venture Capital
From your first SAFE to late-stage equity.
We've helped founders raise over $600 million in venture capital. From your first pre-seed SAFE to late-stage equity rounds, we design practical terms, manage dilution, and protect your control. We keep your cap table clean so you can stay focused on building the company, not navigating deal mechanics.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Built to work, not just to close.
Whether you're selling your business, scaling through acquisition, or acquiring a company as a new entrepreneur, we dig into the details and make the numbers and terms work for you. We lead diligence, structuring, and negotiation, then drive the deal forward to a clean close. Your documents, risk allocation, and earn-outs are built to work, not just to look good in a closing binder.
We also emphasize flexibility. We work on deals of all sizes with varying levels of involvement. While we can (and prefer to) handle everything end-to-end, we just as readily work within each client's specific needs.
Litigation & Disputes
Disputes are sometimes unavoidable. Outcomes are not.
Most disputes are best resolved without a courtroom, but when the other side leaves you no choice, you want counsel who will press your advantage. When a supplier, customer, co-founder, or employee breaks their obligations, we help you understand your leverage and your options. We walk you through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Whether you're defending your business or pursuing what you're owed, we push for the outcome that protects your business, your IP, and your time.
- Judgment in favor of a Founders Law client in excess of $650,000 in a filed Cook County action alleging breach of a loan agreement.
- Arbitration award in excess of $200,000 stemming from breach of a promissory note.
- $180,000 settlement on behalf of an AI consulting company in a contested matter involving enforcement of a liquidated damages provision due to the premature termination of a three-year services agreement.
- Full defense verdict for a medical entity at a bench trial involving a wrongful death claim.
Fund Formation
Structures that match your strategy and your LPs.
We advise sponsors on the formation and operation of private investment funds across venture capital, private equity, hedge, and hybrid strategies. Our practice focuses on structuring funds and management entities in compliance with the Securities Act, the Investment Company Act (including 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) exemptions), and the Investment Advisers Act. We draft and negotiate the core fund documentation (LPAs, PPMs, subscription agreements, and side letters) and guide sponsors through offering structuring, regulatory analysis, and investor onboarding. Our team also supports ongoing operations, including adviser registration and reporting (Form ADV), securities compliance (Form D, Section 13, and Section 16), and fund governance, ensuring alignment with both regulatory requirements and investor expectations.
Quantum
A business around your technology, not just a demo.
Quantum computing is no longer a horizon technology. It is an active frontier for investment, federal procurement, and commercial deployment. Founders Law's Quantum Computing practice sits at the intersection of emerging technology and transactional law, counseling founders, operators, and investors who are building and funding the companies that will define this space. Our work spans the full company lifecycle: early-stage formation and research collaborations, through complex federal contracting, strategic partnerships, and institutional fundraising.
What distinguishes our practice is the ability to translate genuinely complex technical risk into precise, actionable legal terms, so investors can deploy capital, partners can commit, and founders can build with confidence. We are practitioners who have been in the room, at the negotiating table, and on the national stage as this industry has taken shape.
- Founded and structured a quantum-focused investment fund, including drafting and negotiating all fund formation documents, partnership agreements, and governance frameworks.
- Counseled a quantum computing company in navigating a complex Teaming Agreement for a Department of Defense contract, including work-share allocation, IP ownership, NDA provisions, and related MSA documentation.
- Recognized as national thought leaders on quantum computing and the law, our attorneys are invited to speak at leading industry conferences including the inaugural KPMG Quantum Consortium, which convened industry leaders, academics, and emerging-technology executives to address strategic quantum risk and competitive advantage.
Commercial & Technology Contracts
Agreements that sit at the core of how companies sell and scale.
We help businesses, including startups and high-growth technology companies, structure and negotiate the contracts that drive their products and revenue. For example, we routinely draft and review customer, vendor, and partner agreements that sit at the core of how companies sell and scale. These agreements often involve complex issues like SaaS and AI offerings, intellectual property ownership, technology licensing, channel and integration partnerships, marketing arrangements, and professional services.
We draw on big law training and in-house experience at leading technology companies to approach contracts with a practical, business-focused mindset. We work closely with business and legal teams to translate risk into clear, actionable guidance. The goal is not just to paper a deal, but to create agreements that support growth, reduce friction, and align with how your company actually operates.
Artificial Intelligence
Counsel for the companies building AI, and the ones building on it.
Every company is an AI company now, whether or not it says so in the deck. Some are training models; most are wiring someone else's model into a product and trusting the terms behind it. We counsel both, at the stage when governance is still a design choice rather than a remediation project — from training-data provenance and the IP posture of models and outputs to vendor diligence, disclosure obligations, and the enforcement risk that follows overstated capability claims. We've also built AI into our own practice, so the governance we advise on is governance we've implemented under our own professional obligations.
One firm, one conversation, one bill.
We're built around three commitments: practical, reliable, accessible. Here's what that looks like in practice.
Practical
Our attorneys learned at the large firms and honed their skills on real matters. We approach every matter through the lens of accomplishing the goal, not churning time.
Reliable
Getting it right isn't enough. We get things done the way you need it, when you need it, and with clear communication at every step.
Accessible
Founders don't keep office hours. We don't wait three weeks to get back to you with "initial thoughts." We work at a founder's pace, without sacrificing quality.
