The first question a counsellor must answer is whether to be retained at all.
Seven to begin with; more on the same patient cadence.
On whether to sign.
A founder asks her counsel whether ten days is enough to close a Series A. The counsel answers with a question, then another.
On walking away.
A founder describes a term sheet she ought not to sign. The counsel agrees, and explains why agreement is not enough.
On reading the repository.
A buyer wants to know what a code audit is for. The counsel proposes a small experiment with a single file.
On the disclosure as warranty.
A model is shipped. Counsel and engineer disagree about what was promised to whom — and what one is on the hook for, having said it.
On the mark and the domain.
A founder picks a brand, then discovers another company already holds the .com. The counsel offers an older question about names.
On the backtest and the prospectus.
A trader asks counsel whether his strategy can be marketed to investors. The counsel asks, instead, whether what he knows can be taught.
On the inventory of what you hold.
A startup CTO realizes how much personal data the company has collected, and how little of it she meant to.
About the Lyceum.
The Lyceum is a separate quarter of Awad Law P.C. — kept apart from the firm's main page on purpose. The writings here are short dialogues on the practice of counsel: on whether to sign, on what to read, on when to walk away, on the disclosure as warranty. The form is older than the firm; the questions are not.
— D. Awad, Esq.