“What if my lawyer doesn't have time to learn the system?"
"What if it takes me longer to get things done using my lawyer and the platform?"
Entrepreneurs and lawyers frequently ask us these questions. There will be a learning curve when you first start using the platform, just like with any technology. A lawyer's first time using the platform is no different—they will have to figure out how the workflows work, read through the documents, understand the data input mechanism, and how new documents fit in with existing documents. However, as both you and your lawyer become more familiar with the platform, you will be able to work faster and more efficiently over time. Here’s how that plays out:
Let’s say an entrepreneur named Founder Richard has a stock incentive plan. Up to this point, every time he's wanted to grant someone shares, Founder Richard's lawyer Ron has been carefully hand-crafting ISO/NQO option grants (Read more about ISO/NQOs). But now that Founder Richard is on the platform, he can simply click the "Grant Shares or Options" button and have the platform create option grants.
Let’s compare Scenario A (Founder Richard works with his lawyer on the platform) and in Scenario B (Founder Richard works with his lawyer without it) to see the differences.
Scenario A: Founder Richard works with lawyer on the platform
Founder Richard runs through the “Grant Shares or Options” workflow, the platform then automatically creates the Board Consent as well as the Option Grants, which Founder Richard sends to his lawyer Ron for review. Lawyer Ron sees the documents for the first time, reviews them, and makes edits if needed. If Lawyer Ron makes changes to the documents, he’ll route them back to Founder Richard so that Richard can see what’s changed and then send the documents out for signature. If Lawyer Ron thinks the documents are in good shape, he’ll simply indicate that they’re ready to be circulated for signature with the click of a button.
The platform captures all the required signatures—from the board, the company officer and the grant recipients. Not only that, it automatically updates the cap table, which is also viewable by Lawyer Ron, and files away documents in the appropriate folder in the data room.
Scenario B: Founder Richard works with lawyer without it
When Founder Richard asks his lawyer, Ron, to create grants via email or phone call, Lawyer Ron asks for the relevant information to put into the documents. Lawyer Ron confirms that there are enough shares left in Founder Richard’s plan and that the vesting schedule is the company’s standard schedule. Lawyer Ron drafts the Board Consent and grants with the information and circulates for signature.
Founder Richard sends the documents to the board and collects the necessary signatures. Founder Richard sends Lawyer Ron all the signed documents to be compiled and stored with the company's other documents.
Conclusion
Working on the platform allows you to handle things like granting shares quickly, efficiently, and easily so you can focus on running your company. Despite the initial investment in time and effort, you and your lawyer will save a significant amount of time and effort, especially as your company grows. We encourage you and your lawyer to take a look at these articles—our dedicated support knowledge base for lawyers—and to reach out to our customer success team with any questions!
NOTE: Either you or your lawyer can click “grant shares” and generate the share documents. It’s up to you and your lawyer which way you’d prefer to do things.
NOTE: You can approve options with either a Board Consent or Board Minutes in the platform. Because Board Consents are popular with our clients, that's the example used here.
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