What legal tools/services does everyone use? Building my stack.

I publish illustrative scenarios prepared by my practice. The participants and conversations are fictional. These are not posts by real users, accounts of client experiences or reports of actual results.
Started by jchen92_15 · Feb 13, 2025 · 22 replies
For informational purposes only. Not legal advice.
JC
jchen92_15 OP

Honestly, building my startup toolkit. What does everyone use for: contract signing, cap table, legal docs, trademark search, etc.? Looking for the go-to stack honestly.

FO
ForensicAcct_13

My stack (Series A, 15 employees):

E-signatures: DocuSign (switched from HelloSign, DocuSign has better template features)

Cap table: Carta (pricey but worth it for 409A + investor portal)

Contract templates: Terms.Law generators + Stripe Atlas docs

HR/Payroll: Gusto (handles offer letters, tax forms, benefits)

Registered agent: Northwest ($125/year)

Legal counsel: Goodwin (expensive but knows our space)

TM
trying_my_best_1

Budget version (bootstrapped):

E-signatures: PandaDoc free tier or just DocuSign monthly when needed

Cap table: Spreadsheet until you raise (then Pulley, cheaper than Carta)

Contract templates: YC's open-source docs, Shake, or here

Trademark search: USPTO TESS (free)

Legal counsel: LegalZoom for filings, local attorney for real questions

SO
statute_of_limitations_ed

New AI tools worth trying:

Contract review: Spellbook, Lawgeex — can catch issues in vendor contracts

Research: CaseText CoCounsel, Harvey — for quick legal research

Drafting: Claude/GPT-4 — surprisingly good for first drafts of standard agreements

Still need a real lawyer for anything consequential, but AI is great for first passes and understanding what you're looking at.