Counsel
Templates cover most of what an early-stage business signs. This page is for everything else: the matters where the document is not the problem, the terms are.
Buy the document
Most early-stage legal work is a contract that already exists. Those are in the shop, drafted for South African law and priced to be bought rather than quoted.
Get the matter scoped
Where a document will not solve it, the work is defined upfront with a fixed fee and a written deliverable. No open-ended hourly billing on a matter neither of us has scoped.
Keep counsel on hand
For businesses doing deals continuously, a retainer means the legal view arrives before the decision rather than after it.
What we work on
Commercial contracts and deal structuring
Supply agreements, subcontracts, memoranda of understanding, shareholders and founders agreements. Drafting, reviewing and negotiating the terms you will be held to.
Intellectual property
Trade mark applications, copyright, IP assignment and licensing. Patents and registered designs are referred to a patent attorney.
Company structure and governance
Incorporation, shareholding, directors' duties, and structures that have to hold when the business is bigger than it is now.
Court work is referred out. This is a consultancy, not a law firm, so there is no trust account and no client funds.
Technology and data
Software and SaaS agreements, data use agreements, licensing, and POPIA compliance for businesses holding customer data.
Employment
Contracts, policies, restraint and confidentiality terms, and the advisory work that keeps a disagreement from becoming a dispute.
Bids and proposals
Supply agreements, subcontracts, memoranda of understanding, shareholders and founders agreements. Drafting, reviewing and negotiating the terms you will be held to.
In their words
"We have hired The StartUp Legal on retainer as we are extremely pleased with their expertise, know-how and diligence. As a growing business, we have realized the need to have 'a lawyer on call', and The StartUp Legal are proving us to have made the right decision."
Tshega Mampshika
Co-founder and CTO, Algorhythm Lab
"Honestly, you are so good at what you do. Thank you. You've made this journey a little easier."
Bongiwe Masoka
CEO, ZakhiAfrica
"From expertly navigating contractual matters to promptly resolving employment disputes, The StartUp Legal has ensured we have comprehensive legal coverage. They are a critical partner in our growth, proactively identifying potential blind spots and mitigating risks."
Saki Mathele
CEO, Mathele Group of Companies