Get your lawyer up to speed before the first call
Answer plain questions about what’s changing in your business. Tellbrief turns them into a brief you keep. During early access, a corporate lawyer reads every brief once the names clear.
- 10 to 15 minutes
- Free during early access
- No account or card
A national retailer wants our products in 40 stores by spring, and they sent us their vendor agreement. Our formula came from a contract manufacturer, and I’m not sure who owns it.
- What’s changing
- First national retailer, 40 stores by spring
- Records to have ready
- Terms from retailers or distributors
- Who the business relies on
- A contract manufacturer
- Worth asking
- Does the company own what contractors and early contributors made?
We’re raising our first outside money this month. An angel investor sent us a SAFE, and my co-founder and I never put our split in writing.
- What’s changing
- First outside investment, closing this month
- Records to have ready
- Any draft agreement, term sheet or letter from the other side
- Who’s on the other side
- An angel investor
- Worth asking
- What should we clean up in our ownership records and earlier SAFEs or notes before we close?
We’re hiring our first employee, who starts next month. We offered a salary and some equity. Until now two freelancers built our app, and the new hire will work from another state.
- What’s changing
- First employee, starting next month
- Records to have ready
- Any offer you’ve made or discussed, including pay and equity
- Who built it so far
- Two freelancers
- Worth asking
- What needs to be in place before our new hire starts, given where they’ll work?
How it works
- What’s changingAbout 29 leftWhat’s prompting this now?Preparing to launch or openSelling through retail / wholesale / a distributor✓Signing a larger B2B customer
Answer the questions
About 30 questions. Most take one tap.
- TellbriefBrief for your lawyerExample Co
- What’s changing
- Selling through a retailer
- Stage
- Already operating
- Where
- US only
PDFYour copy to keepRead your brief
You read the whole brief before it goes anywhere. The lawyer sees the same one.
- Conflict checkBefore any readingNames checked firstAlex MorganExample CoExample Retail Inc.Brief locked until the names clearNames cleared, ready for the lawyer
Send it with the names
Add the names involved. The lawyer checks them for conflicts before reading anything. If they can’t clear them, your brief is deleted unread.
Next Once the names clear, the lawyer reads your brief and tells you if they can take it on. Either way, the brief is yours.
Why not just call a lawyer or ask a chatbot?
A lawyer, a document service and a chatbot each work best when you already know what to ask. Tellbrief asks first, so the first call starts with your questions, not a recap.
| Tellbrief | Calling a lawyer first | A document service | An AI chatbot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts with | What’s changing in your business | Explaining everything on the call | A document you already picked | The question you type |
| What it catches | Questions you wouldn’t think to ask, like a domain still in a founder’s name | What you remember to say | What its form asks | What you think to ask |
| Lawyer reads it? | Yes, during early access. A lawyer reads every brief once the names clear | Yes, once you’re on the call | Only if you add one | No |
| Who sees your details first | Nobody until you send. Then the lawyer checks the names before reading anything | The lawyer, usually after a conflict check | The service, as you fill in its forms | The AI company, with each message you send |
| You keep | A brief any lawyer can use | Your own notes | The documents | A chat history |
Tellbrief
- Starts with
- What’s changing in your business
- What it catches
- Questions you wouldn’t think to ask, like a domain still in a founder’s name
- Lawyer reads it?
- Yes, during early access. A lawyer reads every brief once the names clear
- Who sees your details first
- Nobody until you send. Then the lawyer checks the names before reading anything
- You keep
- A brief any lawyer can use
- Calling a lawyer first. You explain everything on the call, and the lawyer only hears what you remember.
- A document service. It starts from a document you already picked. No lawyer reads it unless you add one.
- An AI chatbot. It answers what you ask. No lawyer reads it, and the AI company sees each message.
Already have a lawyer or a document service? Keep them. The brief gives your lawyer the full picture first.
Save the first call for the hard questions
Lawyers charged an average of $378 an hour for business formation and compliance work in 2025.1 Your brief covers the basics, so the first call can start with questions like these, picked from your own answers.
For example: Not formed yet, using a brand name, and collecting customer details.
Questions worth asking
- Given how we plan to raise money and exit, what kind of company should we be, and when?Qualified small business stock can shield $15 million or more of a founder’s gain from federal tax. Only C corporations can issue it, and for an LLC the 3–5 year holding period starts only when it converts.2,3
- What should move from a founder’s name into the company’s name, and how?
- Is our name clear to use and register where we sell?
Records to have ready
- Trademark searches, filings or registrationsYour brand name is part of this.
- Records of who owns your domain and key accountsSome accounts or assets may not be in the company’s name.
- Your privacy policy and a list of services that handle customer dataYou collect personal information.
For example: Selling by signed agreement, with renewals, and some work made by outside people.
Questions worth asking
- What should our terms with customers cover before the first one signs?
- Does the company own what contractors and early contributors made?Under U.S. copyright law, a contractor owns the copyright in what they make unless it falls in one of nine narrow categories with a signed agreement, or they sign it over in writing.4,5
- What personal information do we collect, and does our privacy notice match it?About 1,822 data-privacy class actions were filed in 2025, up from 1,488 in 2024.6
Records to have ready
- The contract your customers sign todayIt shows how you sell now.
- Agreements with contractors and other contributorsPeople outside the company may have made work you rely on.
- Your privacy policy and a list of services that handle customer dataYou collect personal information.
For example: A retailer’s terms on the table, a contract manufacturer, a brand name and claims on the label.
Questions worth asking
- What should we look for in the retailer’s or distributor’s terms before we sign?
- Does the company own what contractors and early contributors made?Under U.S. copyright law, a contractor owns the copyright in what they make unless it falls in one of nine narrow categories with a signed agreement, or they sign it over in writing.4,5
- What should our agreement with the manufacturer or supplier cover?
Records to have ready
- Terms from retailers or distributorsYou sell, or plan to sell, through someone else.
- Your agreement with your manufacturer or supplierSomeone else makes or supplies your product.
- Trademark searches, filings or registrationsYour brand name is part of this.
For example: A first employee, after outside contractors built the early work.
Questions worth asking
- Should the people doing the work be employees or contractors?In California, knowingly misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor can bring a civil penalty of $5,000 to $15,000 for each violation.7
- What needs to be in place before our new hire starts, given where they’ll work?
- Does the company own what contractors and early contributors made?Under U.S. copyright law, a contractor owns the copyright in what they make unless it falls in one of nine narrow categories with a signed agreement, or they sign it over in writing.4,5
Records to have ready
- Any offer you’ve made or discussed, including pay and equityWhat you’ve already promised shapes the paperwork.
- Agreements with contractors and other contributorsPeople outside the company may have made work you rely on.
- Anything showing contributors signed over their workIt’s unclear whether the company owns everything it uses.
For example: An investor’s offer in hand, ownership not written down, and equity already promised.
Questions worth asking
- Which terms in the investor’s offer matter most for us?
- What should we clean up in our ownership records and earlier SAFEs or notes before we close?
- Given how we plan to raise money and exit, what kind of company should we be, and when?Qualified small business stock can shield $15 million or more of a founder’s gain from federal tax. Only C corporations can issue it, and for an LLC the 3–5 year holding period starts only when it converts.2,3
Records to have ready
- Your cap table: who owns what share of the companyRaising money or selling starts from who owns what.
- Any SAFEs, notes, options or equity promised to anyoneEarlier promises affect what you can offer now.
- Your formation documents and founder stock agreementsThey show how the company was set up.
For example: A partner on the other side, a secret process, licensed software and a brand name.
Questions worth asking
- Who will own what we build together, and what happens if the deal ends?
- How do we protect what we keep secret when others need to see it?Under federal law, information counts as a trade secret only if its owner takes reasonable measures to keep it secret.8
- Is our name clear to use and register where we sell?
Records to have ready
- Any draft agreement, term sheet or letter from the other sideSomeone else is on the other side of this deal.
- Trademark searches, filings or registrationsYour brand name is part of this.
- Licenses for software, content or data you useYou rely on someone else’s content, software or brand.
For example: Founders who never settled ownership in writing, with some accounts in one founder’s name.
Questions worth asking
- What should the founders put in writing about who owns what, and what happens if one leaves?If founder stock vests over time, a founder who wants an 83(b) tax election has to make it within 30 days after receiving the stock.9
- What should move from a founder’s name into the company’s name, and how?
Records to have ready
- Your cap table: who owns what share of the companyA question between founders starts from who owns what today.
- Your formation documents and founder stock agreementsThey show what the founders agreed when the company was set up.
- Any SAFEs, notes, options or equity promised to anyoneEarlier promises affect what you can offer now.
For example: A buyer on the other side, unclear contributor ownership, and assets in a founder’s name.
Questions worth asking
- What will a buyer ask to see, and what should we fix first?
- What should move from a founder’s name into the company’s name, and how?
- Does the company own what contractors and early contributors made?Under U.S. copyright law, a contractor owns the copyright in what they make unless it falls in one of nine narrow categories with a signed agreement, or they sign it over in writing.4,5
Records to have ready
- Your cap table: who owns what share of the companyRaising money or selling starts from who owns what.
- Any SAFEs, notes, options or equity promised to anyoneEarlier promises affect what you can offer now.
- Your formation documents and founder stock agreementsThey show how the company was set up.
For example: A complaint from a supplier, with a hard deadline coming up.
Questions worth asking
- What deadlines apply to this, and what are our options?If a company is sued in federal court, its answer is generally due 21 days after it’s served. State courts set their own deadlines.10
- What should our agreement with the manufacturer or supplier cover?
Records to have ready
- Any letters, emails or papers about the dispute or complaint, with datesYou said there may be a dispute, claim or complaint.
- Your agreement with your manufacturer or supplierSomeone else makes or supplies your product.
- Contracts and policies you already haveYour lawyer will start from what you have.
See each situation in full: Launching · First customer · Retail deal · First hire · Raising money · Partnership · Founder split · Selling the company · A dispute · All situations
Sources
1. Clio, average lawyer hourly rates by practice area, 2025 (updated March 2026) (opens in a new tab). 2. Orrick, starting as an LLC and QSBS (January 2026) (opens in a new tab). 3. 26 U.S.C. § 1202 (opens in a new tab). 4. 17 U.S.C. § 101, “work made for hire” (opens in a new tab). 5. 17 U.S.C. § 204(a) (opens in a new tab). 6. Duane Morris Class Action Review, data privacy filings (January 2026) (opens in a new tab). 7. Cal. Labor Code § 226.8 (opens in a new tab), California Legislative Information. 8. 18 U.S.C. § 1839(3) (opens in a new tab). 9. 26 U.S.C. § 83(b)(2) (opens in a new tab). 10. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(a)(1)(A) (opens in a new tab). 11. Benesch, automatic renewal compliance (September 2025) (opens in a new tab). Sources 3–5 and 8–10 are from the Cornell Legal Information Institute. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Common questions
Is this legal advice?
No. Tellbrief organizes your information so the first conversation with your lawyer starts further ahead. It isn’t a law firm, it doesn’t draft documents, and using it doesn’t make anyone your lawyer. Legal advice comes from a licensed lawyer, once they agree to take on your matter.
What does it cost?
Your brief is free during early access. If Jordan takes on the work, he agrees the scope and his fee with you before starting, and Tellbrief takes no share of it.
Who reads my brief?
During early access, Jordan Denning, Tellbrief’s co-founder and Chief Legal Officer, checks the names and reads every brief himself, then tells you whether he can take your matter on.
What situations does it cover?
Most of what a growing business runs into: forming the company, a customer or supplier contract, a retail or distribution deal, hiring, raising money, a partnership or license, ownership between founders, brand and IP, privacy and AI, a lease or location, buying or selling a business, a dispute, or a general cleanup. If yours doesn’t fit, choose “Other / not sure” when you send. See every situation.
How long does it take?
About 30 questions, and most take one tap. Plan on 10 to 15 minutes.
Why do you ask for names?
A lawyer has to check for conflicts before reading anything about your business. So when you send, you add the names involved, your email and what it’s about. Your brief stays locked until the lawyer clears the names, and if they can’t, it’s deleted unread.
What happens to my answers before I send?
Your answers stay in your browser tab until you send, and Tellbrief keeps none of them before then.
How long do you keep my brief?
Names and briefs are encrypted before they’re stored. Conflict-check records are deleted 45 days after the last step, and the lawyer’s copy 14 days after it reaches them. The privacy page lists everything Tellbrief keeps, sends and deletes.
Do you track me or sell my information?
No. There are no ad trackers, analytics scripts or cookies, and we don’t sell your information or use it for ads.
Does AI make decisions about my matter?
No. AI features open only after the lawyer clears the names. AI can match your words to an answer, but you confirm it before it’s saved. Anything it drafts for the reviewing lawyer must quote your answers, or it’s removed. Your lawyer decides what matters legally.
Start with the first question
It takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you read the whole brief before anything is sent.
Start your briefFree during early access. No account and no marketing email.