Startup Lawyers for Massachusetts

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Meet some of our Massachusetts Startup Lawyers

Leonid G. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
View Leonid
5.0 (14)
Member Since:
February 22, 2024

Leonid G.

Principal
Free Consultation
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
8 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA LA, NY
New York University School of Law

I have been practicing law since 2018. I used to be a litigator at a nationwide practice before going in-house at a fintech company. I have experience drafting NDAs, SaaS contracts, service agreements, and stock purchase agreements.

Recent  ContractsCounsel Client  Review:
5.0

"Leonid was amazing. He understood the company ethos, our mission, and how to best update our contracts to serve both. He communicated with me on his progress and stayed within the budget I relayed to him. Will hire again for the next project."

John M. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
View John
5.0 (1)
Member Since:
June 4, 2024

John M.

Senior Corporate Counsel
Free Consultation
Foxboro, MA
26 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA NY
Boston University School of Law (J.D.)

John Mercer is a distinguished corporate counsel who is well-known for turning legal challenges into strategic assets. He possesses a deep understanding and expertise in intellectual property (IP), compliance, and corporate law, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. His proficiency lies in transforming legal complexities into strategic advantages, ensuring operational excellence, and driving innovation forward. John excels at safeguarding an organization's legal interests and integrity, ensuring operations adhere to the law. As a strategic leader, John excels at safeguarding an organization’s legal interests and integrity, ensuring operations adhere to the law. He also brings immense value to his profession through his skills in drafting, negotiating, and managing significant agreements that secure organizational interests with widespread industry impact. His unparalleled expertise in legal advisories significantly enhances compliance and develops risk management frameworks that protect and advance company ambitions. Moreover, John's command over patent and trademark portfolios, alongside his ability to drive innovation initiatives and design incentive schemes, substantially bolsters intellectual property prowess. John's areas of expertise are extensive, covering skills vital to corporate law, legal contract negotiations, material transfer agreements, and more. He is particularly adept in regulatory compliance, legal consulting, clinical trials, biotechnology, patents, and patent portfolio analysis, to name a few. His leadership is complemented by active listening, analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and other soft skills that make him a leader and visionary.

Recent  ContractsCounsel Client  Review:
5.0

"Thank you John, I appreciate your very personal effort with quality and practicality in mind."

Alexis L. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
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Member Since:
December 12, 2023

Alexis L.

Attorney at Law
Free Consultation
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
24 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA MI
Suffolk University Law School

I am an attorney in Michigan. I attended Boston College for my undergraduate degree and Suffolk University Law School for my law degree. I have been practicing law for over 20 years.

James S. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
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Member Since:
December 13, 2023
Colin M. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
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Member Since:
June 3, 2024

Colin M.

Attorney
Free Consultation
NEWTON, MA
9 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA
Suffolk University Law School

Experienced attorney with a substantial history of crafting, evaluating, and bargaining multimillion-dollar commercial and government contracts across diverse sectors, encompassing the US Army, DoD contractors, employee benefits, NASDAQ, Pharmaceuticals, and Finance.

Mark L. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
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Member Since:
June 7, 2024

Mark L.

Transactional & IP Attorney
Free Consultation
Boston, MA
19 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA
Suffolk University Law School

I worked in the Intellectual Property Group at Fidelity Investments for almost 25 years, including managing the group from 2017-2021. I managed and developed the same high-performing group of three legal professionals from 2007-2021. Early in my career at Fidelity, I focused primarily on trademark matters, including trademark searching and clearance, as well as enforcement of trademark rights. In fact, I created Fidelity's trademark and brand protection programs and advanced them over more than two decades, eventually bringing the domestic trademark portfolio in-house and realizing savings of well over $2 million in outside counsel expenses for searching, prosecution and maintenance of US registrations from 2008-2021. Fidelity put me through law school, and I continued working full time while attending law school at night over four years. Upon graduation and passing the bar in 2006, I was promoted to an attorney position effective 1/1/2007. My practice broadened, and I began working on more transactional matters. I became a key transactional attorney for major technology groups and businesses within Fidelity, and negotiated numerous mission critical tech deals, transforming Fidelity's business. I provided transactional and IP support for Fidelity's software development and services affiliate in Ireland, and worked extensively with many of Fidelity's other foreign affiliates. Fidelity's General Counsel handpicked me to provide transactional and IP support to a new business initiative in 2017. That initiative became fintech startup Akoya, LLC, a paradigm-shifting business that enables secure, customer-controlled sharing of personal financial information between financial institutions and service providers. I developed template agreements between Akoya and data providers (financial institutions) and also between Akoya and data recipients (e.g. tax preparation services and financial advisors). Akoya had matured enough to be spun out by Fidelity in early 2020 to a consortium of financial services companies. In 2021, Fidelity offered a voluntary buyout to long-tenured associates, and following the pandemic, coupled with the financial and health benefits included in the package, it was an offer I could not refuse. Days later, my elderly father-in-law broke his hip, and my wife and I became his primary caregivers. It's been a blessing that I was able to contribute to his care and alleviate some of the burden on my wife. He is now in a long-term care facility, and I am eager to return to work as in-house counsel, whether on a contract basis, part time or full time. I did work briefly as a sole practitioner in 2021 and 2022, primarily helping friends, family and pro bono clients with NDAs, business formation issues, consulting agreements and license agreements. From August 2022 - July 2023, I was on the staff of Flex by Fenwick, an in-house counsel on demand business that is a subsidiary of the IP firm Fenwick & West, but did not get any engagements. My wife and I have volunteered for over a year with a dog rescue, Last Hope K9 Rescue, and have fostered several dogs, and adopted two of them!

Michael P. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
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Member Since:
June 6, 2024

Michael P.

Lawyer
Free Consultation
Walpole, MA
21 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA NH
New England School of Law

I have been licensed since 2006 and have extensive experience in family law, personal injury, criminal law, and general litigation. I have a solo practice and I am seeking new opportunities.

John L. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
View John
Member Since:
June 21, 2024

John L.

Attorney
Free Consultation
Burlington, MA
36 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA DC, FL
Massachusetts School of Law

I have been practising law for over 30 years. I have extensive legal experience in contract disputes and drafting demand letters. I have been lead counsel in over 100 civil and criminal jury trials and have extensive litigation stradegy knowledge. I belive my experience would be of great benefit to any prospective client.

Matthew S. - Startup Lawyer in Massachusetts
View Matthew
Member Since:
July 26, 2024

Matthew S.

Business Lawyer
Free Consultation
West Hollywood, California
14 Yrs Experience
Licensed in MA AZ, CA, FL
Boston University School of Law

I am a business, Internet, and intellectual property lawyer. My practice is split between both transactional work and litigation. Prior to law school, I earned a master’s degree in computer science, which gives me the background and experience to understand technology, software, and the Internet better than most attorneys, and so my practice focuses on these areas. However, I represent clients in almost any industry, including real estate, construction, medicine, service, and consumer products.

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Startup Legal Questions and Answers

Startup

Equity Agreement

Massachusetts

Asked on Oct 25, 2021

What is the best way to receive equity compensation for work as a consultant?

I work as a fractional CFO to startup companies providing monthly services for a fixed fee. I'm looking to put in place an agreement where I receive a fixed rate of cash compensation each month, along with a fixed dollar rate of equity compensation each month. Given that these are startups, the valuation is generally not known at the time of the agreement. What is the best way to structure this arangement?

Moss S.

Answered Nov 30, 2021

It is always difficult to set a fair compensation package when a valuation of a company for equity purposes is unknown. Normally when funding a startup company, investors are given a valuation for their investment should the company be successful. If this is not ascertainable, I would suggest setting forth certain milestones of the amount of time expended and relate that to a percentage of equity in the company.

Read 1 attorney answer>

Startup

LLC

Illinois

Asked on Aug 8, 2023

LLC and management structure?

I am in the process of starting a business and am considering forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC). I want to understand the management structure of an LLC and how it works in practice. I am interested in how the management structure can help protect me from personal liability, and how it can provide a framework for decision-making and dispute resolution.

Talin H.

Answered Aug 25, 2023

Hi, congrats on starting a business! You're asking all of the right questions. The short answer is that your LLC operating agreement can spell out in as much detail as you want what decisions the Manager of the LLC is free to make on their own, and what decisions require a vote from the other Members. You can also elect to have a multi-manager LLC, in which each Manager is responsible for different aspects of the business, such as day-to-day operations versus overall business strategy versus capital raising. Again, each one of these Manager roles can specifically delineate what decisions and actions the Manager can take automatically, without other Members' prior approval. I specialize in business and corporate transactions and have drafted 100s of LLC operating agreements. I would be delighted to help you. Please reach out at talin@hitiklaw.com or call my office at (312)685-2292.

Read 1 attorney answer>

Startup

Software Agreement

Florida

Asked on Jun 9, 2023

Software agreement and maintenance?

I am an entrepreneur who is planning to launch a new software product. I am in the process of negotiating a software agreement with a potential partner, and I need to make sure that I understand my obligations regarding maintenance of the software. I have limited experience in this area and need to ensure that I have a comprehensive agreement that covers all of the necessary points.

Daniel D.

Answered Jul 18, 2023

Your maintenance obligations will largely depend on what is written into the software agreement between you and your partner. If you and your partner agree you can have a very broad or very limited obligation, but it should be clear so you avoid any disputes in the future. A comprehensive agreement can include any provisions you and your partner agree on as long as it does not violate State Law or Public Policy.

Read 1 attorney answer>

Startup

Cofounder Agreement

California

Asked on Jun 14, 2025

Is it necessary to have a co-founder agreement when starting a business?

I am in the process of starting a business with a co-founder, and we have discussed various aspects of our partnership such as equity distribution, roles and responsibilities, and decision-making authority. However, we are unsure if it is necessary to have a formal co-founder agreement in place to protect our interests and ensure a smooth working relationship. We want to understand the importance and potential benefits of having a legally binding agreement in order to make an informed decision.

Paul S.

Answered Jul 18, 2025

It's not necessary but it can be a really good idea. You'll want to address things like the equity split, vesting schedule, each cofounder's contributions (cash, IP, time, etc.), how much time each cofounder will be expected to spend (and if someone is starting out part-time, when they are expected to go full-time), and you may want to address consequences for failing to meet the required contributions and time - for example, company can claw back shares at original price and expel the cofounder.

Read 1 attorney answer>

Startup

Vesting Agreement

Pennsylvania

Asked on Apr 4, 2022

Erin hope your having a great day! I am starting up my cold pressed juice company im bring in a co founder who's handling all branding and marketing I wan to give him some equity. looking for help with splitting equity and writing up a vesting agreement. thanks looking forward to hearing from you.

.

Ryan W.

Answered Apr 26, 2022

HI Erin. Congratulations on starting your cold pressed juice venture. That is exciting. I do have experience drafting agreements between founders and investors. Vesting agreements can be very flexible to meet the needs of the parties. They are very useful when a party is investing sweat equity in addition to or in place of cash. I am happy to discuss such agreements with you and how they relate to your particular venture.

Read 1 attorney answer>
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