How a Consumer Hired a Lawyer to Review an Equity Compensation Agreement in California

In 2024, a personal client in California posted a project seeking assistance with an equity compensation agreement. The client had been working with a startup for two months without a formal contract and needed help to refine the existing document, which outlined a 5% equity stake as a cofounder. However, they sought to strengthen the agreement by submitting a counteroffer and ensuring key protections were included to address concerns about vested equity, termination conditions, and ambiguous performance clauses. As a result, the client received 11 proposals from licensed lawyers, with flat fee bids ranging from $240 to $1,500, all submitted to complete the work within the requested deadline of less than one week.