5 Best Law Firms for Tech Companies in 2024

How Tech Companies Can Benefit From Legal Support

Tech companies think about legal diligence not just because of their own risk appetite for getting paid, making sure their stock is properly issued, or making sure their IP is properly assigned, but also from the perspective of the risk appetite of any future investor who will conduct due diligence on their babies.  Therefore, think about the benefits of legal support as not just protecting you in a way you think is fair, but making sure your company is protected from the perspective of the investors who will later hope to own a piece of it.  

In order to help you in your goal to find the right law firm for your tech company, we’ve outlined a few important areas you should ask for their support in. 

1. Intellectual Property (IP) Protection: IP is usually the core asset of any tech company, so it’s important to make sure that every service provider (employee, contractor, or advisor) is assigning everything that should be assigned to make sure your Company isn’t challenged, or doesn’t have its rights to revenue challenged, later. IP law usually emerges in copyright, trademark, patents and trade secrets, but for many software companies, the main focus is in ensuring assignment of all IP rights from service providers, and making sure that only the exact rights you need to issue are given out to customers. 
2. Contract Management: In establishing a template Master Services Agreement, an online Terms of Service, or a practice for dealing with redlines, whether with customers or vendors, contracts establish both business terms like payment or termination clauses, as well as risk allocation; the latter includes ideas around what the maximum amount of damages each party will bear will be (limitation of liability), who will cover what kinds of risks from third parties (indemnification), what promises you make about the service (warranty).  As you can imagine, in most cases, these don’t end up being invoked, thankfully–but when something goes wrong, they can be of paramount importance.  Finally, keep in mind that whether or not something goes wrong, some provisions remain important regardless–like whether you assigned too much IP, and a future investor, in diligence, discovers this, and gets spooked.
3. Employment Law: Employment law is largely governed at the state level, which makes working in our modern, often distributed environment, even more administratively difficult.  Plus, because lots of states thankfully have labor protection rules, compliance sometimes means having to take affirmative steps to do or not do something.  Lots of this work can be outsourced to human resources tools like Rippling or Gusto, but when sensitive topics come up, or you’re in doubt, lawyers can help! 

4. Data Privacy and Cybersecurity: Data is the new oil.  And sensitive data even moreso.  With increasing legislation at the global and state levels, plus any reasonable customer’s expectations around what measures you take to protect data, it’s hard to get around data privacy and information security requirements.  These are often technical, and sometimes come with rules established in law that aren’t always intuitive. 
5. Dispute Resolution and Litigation: Thankfully, few legal disputes actually escalate to the point of litigation–entering court, making arguments, and wearing fancy suits.  This is especially true for startups; usually neither the customer nor the vendor have the appetite to give their hard earned cash for lawyers to work it out.  However, depending on power (read: money) dynamics, as well as any given actor’s personality, litigation can happen, and in any case, managing the dispute before hand can not only reduce the damage that litigation would bring, but also makes it more likely that whatever “settlement” you agree on is in your favor.
6. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): One of two ultimate aspirations for a startup–the other being an Initial Public Offering (IPO), an exit through M&A creates a liquidity event for stockholders in the company, especially founders.  How much they are paid out depends primarily on the business you’ve established, but can be moved a lot depending on the legal health of your company; investors pay less for riskier companies, and companies that have crossed their t’s and dotted their i’s in a legal sense will be less risky.

For any tech company that is looking to expand and boost their legal capabilities, working with an attorney that specializes in tech can provide subject matter-specific support that investors expect. Reach out to ask any questions you might have about these or other needs!

Meanwhile, we’ve compiled a list of seven law firms that do great work in the space.

Best Law Firms for Tech Companies

1. Legal and Ops PC

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Size: Boutique

Our Take: “Good, fast, cheap:  choose two.”  Working with most law firms, you can often expect good, but speed and price are complete unknowns.  Not at Legal and Ops:  We offer standard tasks at fixed prices, and everything on a three-business-day turnaround time (with the option to expedite).  Of course, we never compromise on good; coming from WSGR, Harvard Law, and A16Z-backed Atrium, we have some of the best experiences in startup law, and work at a startup ourselves, which means we get it!  Expect to control good, fast and cheap with Legal and Ops.

2. Westaway Law

Size: Boutique

Our take:  As one of the first adopters of the Fractional General Counsel offerings for tech companies, Kyle Westaway and his team also empower you with a knowledge of price predictability, with their fixed price services; further, by using modern technology and operations, Westaway Law offers more consistent turnaround times than you might expect at more traditional law firms.  Combined with Kyle Westaway’s utmost expertise, we can’t recommend them more.

 3. SPZ

Size: Boutique

Our Take: SPZ is, in our view, one of the top boutiques for tech companies; just check out their website to see what we’re talking about–they’re loaded with expertise and make it as available as possible.  We already know they’re excellent people, but it doesn’t hurt either to hear about their value for pro bono work, being praised in 2024 by Berkley Law for their efforts to support twelve startups on a Pro Bono Basis in 2023 

4. Presidio Legal

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Size: Boutique

Our Take: The best combination of features for an early stage tech company is, in our opinion, BigLaw experience at Boutique rates.  And just as you can see on their website, this is exactly what Presidio offers. Coming from A16Z-backed Atrium, as well as deep BigLaw experience, Presidio is an excellent first stop, and probably often a last stop, for many of the typical tech legal needs. 

5. Goodwin

Size: BigLaw

Our Take:  We absolutely love the team at Goodwin! So much so, that it’s our first stop when BigLaw makes sense (especially for complex topics, bet-the-farm needs, and more).  If you have a healthy budget, and expect white glove service for day to day; or if you’re just more mature and expect expertise to be available quickly for any given topic; or when *we’re* facing something that needs a deeper subject matter expert, we go to Goodwin.

6. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Size: BigLaw

Our Take: This is our alma mater, so again, we’re a little biased, but for good reason:  WSGR has long been one of the, if not the staple name for tech companies; from formation through IPO, their deep bench of super seasoned attorneys will no doubt provide excellent service, though it may come with a price tag.

7. Cooley

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Size: BigLaw

Our Take: Being named 2020’s Tech Law Firm of the year by Law360, Cooley’s massive scale and focus on tech make it an obvious choice for us to recommend. If a company can allocate a more expansive budget to account for Cooley’s renowned services, then they are an excellent option! 

5. Axiom Law

Size: BigLaw

Our Take: Offering both self-service and access to a database of highly vetted and distinguished attorneys, Axiom sets itself apart from the rest in the legal industry. Their flexible model is especially effective for later stage companies with more volatile needs.

Finding the Right Legal Partner

Don’t forget that working with a lawyer is the best way to feel out a fit–though working with multiple lawyers at the same time can sometimes create confusion.  Especially with those folks that don’t charge a lawyer, try a small matter, and see how the experience (and bill) feel.  If you’re not sure, we’re happy to be a sounding board!

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