Startup law is a specialty.
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A SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) is a financing instrument used by early-stage startups to raise money from investors without setting a valuation at the time of investment. The investor receives the right to equity in a future priced round. SAFEs are fast to close and widely accepted by angel investors and seed funds.

AT Startup Law prepares SAFE rounds for a flat fee of $3,500 for up to 3 investors, including the SAFE agreements, board consents, individual investor questionnaires, and federal Form D preparation and filing. State notice filings are quoted separately; state fees range from $0 to $500 or more per state.

Both are instruments used to raise money before a priced equity round. A convertible note is debt with an interest rate and a maturity date that converts to equity upon a future financing event. A SAFE is not debt; it has no interest rate or maturity date and simply converts in a future priced round. SAFEs are simpler and faster; convertible notes may be preferred by some investors. AT Startup Law handles SAFE rounds at $3,500 and convertible note rounds at $4,500, both for up to 3 investors.

A fractional GC (outside general counsel) is an experienced attorney who serves as a company's outside general counsel on a part-time monthly retainer. The attorney knows the company, tracks its legal situation over time, and is already up to speed and can move quickly when things come up. AT Startup Law offers fractional GC retainers from $1,500/month (4 hours) to $4,500/month (15 hours), with a 3-month minimum and up to 10 hours of carryover. Clients use their hours however the company needs.

AI tools can produce first drafts of many startup legal documents but carry significant risks. AI cannot account for your company's specific circumstances, spot faulty assumptions, navigate state securities exemptions, identify missing provisions, or note what else needs to happen to accomplish the intended purpose of a document.

AT Startup Law reviews AI-generated documents for $750 per document up to 15 pages, with a full redline and written risk memo. Documents exceeding 15 pages are quoted individually.

AT Startup Law's Startup Formation Package is $2,500 plus state and filing fees. It includes the full organizational document set: Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, Incorporator and Board organizational written consents, Stockholders' Agreement with transfer restrictions and founder equity repurchase rights, Stock Purchase or Restricted Stock Agreements, IP Assignment Agreements, 83(b) election forms and instructions, and EIN application preparation.

Online incorporation services advertise lower prices — sometimes under $1,000 — but typically provide only the bare minimum: articles of incorporation and basic bylaws. They generally do not include a Stockholders' Agreement with founder equity repurchase rights, customized equity documents, or IP Assignment Agreements. Those are what make a formation investor-ready. Skipping them is a common source of the problems founders bring to us after the fact.

Any lawyer can form a company. Not every lawyer knows what questions to ask when forming one for a startup that intends to seek outside investment to rapidly scale. Startup law involves a specific intersection of corporate, securities, equity compensation, IP, and contract law that requires specialized knowledge and experience.

Common mistakes by non-specialists include missing IP assignment agreements, equity structures that won't survive a venture term sheet, founder vesting schedules that don't match investor expectations, and no plan for what happens when a founder departs. These mistakes are often invisible until a sophisticated investor finds them, at which point they're expensive to fix and sometimes fatal to the deal.

Not necessarily. We work with companies at whatever stage they come to us, including those with existing documents from prior attorneys, online services, or AI tools. Our Legal Health Check and Investment Readiness Assessment ($3,500) reviews your existing documents, cap table, and prior securities offerings to identify what's solid, what's missing, and what needs to be addressed before your next financing. Many companies find it's faster and less expensive to remediate specific problems than to start over entirely.

Yes. AT Startup Law serves early-stage companies and founders across the United States. Most work is handled remotely via video call and email. Anne Turner is licensed in Mississippi and California and is based in Madison, Mississippi. Core practice areas, including Delaware formations and federal securities law, are national in scope. If you have a startup legal need and you're in the US, we can help.