Excerpts from José Ancer, Don’t Use Your Lead Investor’s Lawyers:
Principle: If your lawyer makes more money off of your investors than he does from you, he’s not really your lawyer.
If someone made you an offer to buy your home, but suggested that you use their real estate agent in the process, you’d hopefully immediately notice a problem with such an arrangement. Most people would. That being said, here’s a very common scenario in the early stages of a startup:
Investor (to Founder): Hey, we’d love to work with you guys on a possible investment, but first you need to get your legal stuff cleaned up.
Founder (eager to get investment): Awesome. But I don’t know any good startup lawyers.
Investor: No problem, I know a great startup lawyer, [X]. We’ve worked with him on several deals. I’ll put you in touch.
The problem with this scenario? When things go sideways.
