Send founders to legal office hours prepared

Why programs add it

• Office hours go further. Lawyers usually give that time for free. When the background is written down before the slot, the twenty minutes go to the founder’s questions instead of the backstory.
• Founders learn what to bring. Many don’t know what a lawyer needs to see. The brief lists the records for their situation, from the cap table to the other side’s draft contract.
• It keeps working after the program. The brief works with any lawyer a founder hires later.
• No work for you. Nothing to sign, no accounts to manage and no founder data coming to you.

What your founders get

• A brief to bring. The questions follow what the founder says, from co-founders and contractors to a first big customer. It takes 10 to 15 minutes, works on a phone, and “Not sure” is always an answer.
• Their own words, not legal advice. The brief holds their answers, questions for the lawyer and the records to have ready. It reaches no legal conclusions. Tellbrief isn’t a law firm and doesn’t recommend lawyers.
• Nothing kept. Answers stay in the founder’s browser tab while they write. If they only download the brief, Tellbrief doesn’t keep it or their answers, only counts with nothing about who. There are no accounts, ad trackers or cookies. The privacy page has the details.

What it costs your program

Nothing, and there’s nothing to sign. Tellbrief doesn’t charge founders, and it doesn’t tell you which founders used it. Law firms pay to use it with their own clients; that’s how it’s paid for.

Wording to paste

Use whichever fits where your founders look. Change anything so it sounds like you.

Office-hours sign-up

Meeting a lawyer at office hours? Make a free brief first at tellbrief.com/start. It takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you bring the PDF, so your time with the lawyer goes to your questions.

Email to your cohort

Subject: Before your legal office hours

If you’ve booked time with one of our office-hours lawyers, make a free brief first at tellbrief.com/start. You answer plain questions about your business, about 10 to 15 minutes on a phone, and download a PDF with your situation, the questions you want to ask and the records to bring. Bring it or send it ahead, so your slot goes to your questions. It isn’t legal advice, and we don’t see your answers.

Slack or community post

Legal office hours tip: make a free brief at tellbrief.com/start before your slot. It takes 10 to 15 minutes and gives you a PDF with your questions and the records to bring, so the lawyer can skip the background. Nobody here sees your answers.

Founder handbook

Before you meet a lawyer. Make a free brief at tellbrief.com/start. It asks plain questions about your business and gives you a PDF with your situation, your questions and the records to bring. It works with any lawyer, including the ones at our office hours. Tellbrief isn’t a law firm and doesn’t recommend lawyers.

For the lawyers who hold office hours with you

Lawyers can use their own Tellbrief link instead. Founders then send the names involved first, so the lawyer can check for conflicts before hearing any details, and the lawyer gets the issues to raise and a one-page call sheet. It’s free for them for 60 days. Send them the page for office-hours lawyers.