Legal Advice for Start-Up Businesses

If you’re an ambitious start-up business owner looking for legal support with structuring your business, defining your intellectual property strategy or employment contracts, then our experienced start-up lawyers can help you on your journey.

We help entrepreneurs and founders launch and grow their businesses with the right legal foundations in place.

Kickstarting your new business

Many of our team at Arbor Law have been business owners in fast-growth start-ups and scale-ups, so we understand that the legal aspects can often seem onerous and costly. However, having them in place at the outset is critical for scaling your business with ease and avoiding expensive mistakes down the line.

You want your legal obligations to be taken care of so you can focus on building a successful business. At Arbor Law, we partner with your start-up business to ensure you invest in the right legal advice and documents, building you a stable legal base.

Delivering specialist business legal advice

As part of our legal solutions, we provide specialist legal advice on:

  • Business structure
  • Investment opportunities
  • Intellectual property
  • Data protection
  • Employment and supplier contracts.

Contact us to discover how our experienced team can support your start-up business.

Fixed fees for cost-certainty

We know you need to manage costs, so offer start-up business packages on a fixed-fee basis. This includes time with one of our senior business start up lawyers so you can get “in-person” specialist legal advice and reassurance, as well as help with your essential legal agreements and documents.

If you’re looking for flexible legal services and support with growing your business, then take a look at the start-up business legal packages we offer:

Great start-ups are often created by friends, partners or connections with a shared passion or interest. All too often that enthusiasm to take a new idea to market is so intense, you might miss out on one of the most fundamental legal documents to get in place: a founders’ agreement. Having an agreement up front to align on expectations and have a plan if things change is absolutely key.

We work with founders to ensure they have an agreement in place that will see the business through any changes. This package includes:

  • Consultation session with founders
  • Walkthrough to discuss all key issues including:
    • Board structure – how are decisions made
    • Shareholder rights – protections for minority shareholders
    • Vesting of shares – what happens if one founder leaves?
    • Assignment of IP – ensure everything you and your team is doing is properly owned by the company
  • Creation of a customised founders’ agreement

To enquire about a founder’s agreement for your start-up business, contact one of the team at Arbor Law.

Raising early-stage funding is one of the most important milestones when you are growing your start-up. As well as developing a robust business model and plan, you need to make sure that you have the necessary legal documents in place for investors to consider backing you.

Our start up lawyers will work with you to make sure you have a suite of documents that makes you investor ready. These include:

  • Shareholder agreements
  • Articles of association
  • Deed of adherence
  • Investor certification
  • Board minutes
  • Shareholder resolutions

To enquire about our investor ready start-up package for your business, contact one of the team at Arbor Law.

Directors’ Service Agreements are essential to protect your business as it grows and ensure compliance with your business’s obligations under UK employment legislation.

Our lawyers will work with you to prepare service agreements that meet your business’s specific requirements. This package includes:

  • A consultation session with a senior specialist employment lawyer
  • Discussion of the key requirements of your business, including:
    • Duties and responsibilities
    • Salary and benefits
    • Limits on authority and conflicts of interest
    • Confidentiality and non-competition
    • Notice and termination
  • Creation of a customised directors’ service agreement tailored to your business needs.

To enquire about Directors Service Agreements for your business, contact one of the team at Arbor Law.

Getting the right employment contracts, policies and procedures in place at the beginning will help your business avoid the pain and expense of putting it right in the future.

Our lawyers will work with you to ensure that you have the right employment documentation to meet your business’s specific requirements. This package includes:

  • A consultation session with a senior specialist employment lawyer
  • Discussion of the key employment issues to be aware of, and your business’s requirements.
  • Creation of the following customised employment documents tailored to your business needs:

1. Template offer of employment letter

2. Template employment contract for general use by your business

3. Staff handbook containing the key employment policies and procedures relevant to your business

To enquire about the “Get employment ready” package for your business, contact one of the team at Arbor Law.

Getting your business off the ground can often involve hiring individual contractors and consultants at very short notice to help with the things that you can’t do yourself. To protect your business and avoid misunderstandings and disputes, it is important to put in place written agreements for your independent contractors.

Our lawyers will work with you to develop a suitable independent contractors agreement for your business. This package includes:

  • A consultation session with a senior specialist employment lawyer
  • Discussion of the key requirements to meet the needs of your business, including:
    • Fees
    • Intellectual property
    • Confidentiality and competitive activities
    • Notice and termination
    • Employment status
  • Creation of a customised self-employed contractors agreement tailored to your business needs.

To enquire about a Self-Employed Contractors Agreement for your business, contact one of the team at Arbor Law.

As start-ups scale and grow, it’s important to invest in your people and retain many of those who have contributed to its success.

An EMI (Enterprise Management Incentives) option scheme provides employees the right to buy shares in the company in a very tax efficient way.

To enquire about an EMI option scheme agreement for your start-up business, contact one of the team at Arbor Law.

We work as virtual general counsel for start-up businesses who are going through funding rounds and need ongoing support from a law firm. One of our team of senior lawyers will plug into your business to provide the support you need during this phase of growth and create your in-house legal team for the future, bringing in the right people, the right technology and creating the right legal processes.

We offer this service on a cost-effective fixed monthly fee.

Find out more about our virtual general counsel solution.

Providing start up legal advice

We offer a free 30-minute discovery call for start-up businesses at any stage of growth with one of our expert team of lawyers. During this session, we will discuss your business, any legal issues and advice on the essential items you need to have in place.

Complete the form below to learn more about the specialist legal advice we deliver and the support we can provide your business.