The Great Canadian Seed Lawyer Challenge
Back in March, uber-VC Fred Wilson issued a challenge to startup lawyers in the US to do seed deals for $5K or less. There are some great templates for seed documents in the US and he felt correctly that seed deals should not cost more than $5K.
We don’t have such widely accepted templates here in Canada, but we are getting there. MaRS has a published standard based on the series seed. We have been using them for all our deals at Real Ventures.
Anyway, with more seed deals starting to get done here in Canada, I issued a similar challenge to lawyers here. Without further ado here is a list of great lawyers that are committed to the Canadian startup community and can do seed deals for $5K or less.
(Note: These are mostly east coast firms based on who I have worked with. Hoping we can get some more names up here).
Based in Montreal, this is a boutique firm staffed by partner-level folks who have spent time in big law firms and know how to get complex deals done cheaply. I have had the pleasure of working on several transactions with the Blue HF team.
Toronto-based Cognition have a unique practice: part-traditional law firm, part in-house counsel. As your company grows they can become an entrenched part of your company. They have the most startup-like offices of any law firm I know. Good people.
Hyndman Law (Toronto)
Rob Hyndman is one of the co-founders of the Mesh conference. He runs a boutique practice in TO and works with a number of startups.
Labarge, Weinstein (Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Waterloo, Montreal)
Labarge is one of Canada’s most startup friendly law firms. I have been working with James Smith for years and recently completed the sale of Tungle with him. They’re great and James is the only lawyer I know who drives a pick up truck to work.
Morin Legal
Alain Morin (Montreal) used to be a partner at Gowlings, a national law firm that is heavily involved in the tech community. He recently set up shop by himself so that he could work more closely with today’s startups.
Osler (across Canada)
Shahir Guindi runs the Montreal office and tech practice for Osler. I don’t think you will find a more experienced or connected lawyer. Shahir has advised many funds and advised on some of the biggest deals in Canada. He recommends using one law firm to represent both sides on seed deals. We work extensively with Osler at Real Ventures.
Venture Law Associates (Toronto)
Suzie Dingwall Williams has more personality than any other lawyer you’ll ever meet. She runs a great boutique practice in Toronto. She works with a number of small and large startups.
So, that’s my list. The contact links are e-mails to partners at each firm. You want law firms with domain expertise and deal experience on your side. Each of these firms fits the bill. Let’s get some seed deals done!
Totally agree with Rubsun at Cognition's comment. Another big challenge is in finding the right amount of financial (not just legal) and advisory support to get investor / finance ready (with someone you trust) without having to commit to a VP Finance/ CFO salary before you are ready.
Rajah Lehal is another great lawyer who specializes in venture law. He should really be on your list!
Here’s a link to his company Cobalt: http://www.cobaltcounsel.com/
He’s also in the process of launching a new business accelerator in Toronto called Multiplicity: http://www.multiplicityaccelerator.com/
Great comment from Rubsun at Cognition:
"The challenge for some startups, however, is not the financing but getting ready for the financing. i.e. cleaning up everything that needs to get done at a minimum to be in proper shape to take external money (e.g. employment agreements, proper incorporation documents, issuing shares and option agreements to everyone that has been promised equity, shareholders agreement, etc). That’s where a lot of startups end up running up legal bills and where they may be surprised by their bills."