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Legal that accelerates startups

Darwin gives founders the power of an enterprise legal department—a Chief Legal Officer, Legal Operations, and a Specialist Bench—scaled to startup budgets and built for speed and growth.

We live and breathe early-stage tech startups. We know the problems founders face and solve them with a founder mindset.

Who We Serve

We built Darwin Legal specifically for early-stage tech founders who need enterprise-grade legal guidance, infrastructure, and execution on a lean budget. Here's who we work with best:

Pre-Seed to Series A Startups

The big "startup" firms see early-stage work as a loss leader for Series B+ deals. We've built a sustainable practice around pre-seed through Series A because we find these challenges particularly rewarding—forging deep relationships that often extend into later stages.

SaaS, AI, and Emerging Tech

Though we work across the tech spectrum, our practice has gravitated toward SaaS, AI, and emerging tech—areas that uniquely engage us. Our fascination with these fields drove us to build specialized expertise, attracting founders who share our enthusiasm.

Founder-Led, High-Growth Teams

We connect best with founder-led teams. Working with visionary individuals deeply invested in their mission creates the kind of personal partnerships that are fundamentally more meaningful and rewarding than conventional corporate counsel.

Leaders Ready for a Legal Partner

Our best clients are operators who take legal seriously but don't want to own the legal function. They're comfortable with vulnerability about knowledge gaps, and genuinely value proactive, strategic counsel as integral to business success.

What We Handle

Company Formation

We set the foundation for growth with the filings, agreements, and corporate documents that assign your ownership, design your governance, and secure your intellectual property.

Team & Equity

We help you build a team the right way, with clear, founder-friendly policies and scalable HR infrastructure and agreements, from onboarding to equity to separation.

Fundraising

We guide you from term sheet to closing with your first friends & family check, SAFEs with angels, preferred equity rounds with VCs, and everything in between.

Commercial Contracts

We draft, review, and negotiate the customer, vendor, and strategic partnership agreements you'll need to grow your venture.

General Counsel

We answer unexpected questions, spot risks, and collaborate to build scalable infrastructure to avoid costly legal issues.

Exits

We can take you through the whole process when it's time to sell your startup—or buy someone else's.

What Our Clients Say

"I'm absolutely loving the subscription model. I didn't realize how much I was holding back on little questions here and there. It's unlocked the ability to use our legal counsel as a strategic partner and be more proactive together, as opposed to reactive. Not only is the new model working, but Ryan is the best legal counsel I've worked with in my startup career. He's responsive, thoughtful, and provides legal counsel couched in good business sense!"

Lindsey Hulet, SVP Operations & People, Builder Prime

"It's pretty nice to have peace of mind that we've got a daily spot to chat if we ever have an urgent matter. For me, that's the most valuable thing: Being able to know we're on solid ground when it comes to contract and legal matters and not worrying for too long!"

Matt McInerny, Partner, Township