An associate and I are considering putting together a startup. We will likely (hopefully) have competent counsel draw up the incoporation paperwork. Since this will likely be the firm that my associate has worked with in the past, it makes sense for me to have independent counsel to review the founder agreement. I'm interested in determining how much it will likely cost, as well as anything else I should consider. FWIW, it will be an agreement where we are both cofounders with an equal equity split (50/50 less option pool) and we are expecting (hoping) that it is a high growth startup and will be working on attracting outside capital.
The price totally depends on the type of lawyer and years of experience. Here's a rough breakdown of legal fees based on people you might go to:
Family Friend Lawyer (not always best)
$0-$300
New Legal Associate/New Solo Practitioner
$200-$500 or $200-$250/hour
Experienced Lawyer
$500-$1000 depending on hours involved
All three will work, but the family friend lawyer is likely to miss a few issues in my previous dealings. The Experienced lawyer is the best, but will likely be out of the price range of a startup.
Note: This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney client relationship.