European vs US lawyers

Daniel Glazer of Wilson Sonsini for European founders Part 2 - US vs European lawyers:

- Lawyer involvement is very different in the US to Europe. For example, in the US it is the norm for tech-focused law firms to assist (in the background) with term sheet review and negotiation, and with investor outreach in advance of the raise. It also is extremely common in the US for the company’s outside counsel to attend the company’s board meetings as a matter of course.

- On average, US startups use lawyers much more than European startups, largely due to the more robust litigation environment in the US. In Europe, startups often take a relatively light touch approach to using lawyers. In the US, the potential consequences of legal exposure are more severe, such that US lawyers play a “problem-avoidance” proactive advisory role in addition to a “problem-solving” reactive one. This dynamic will be relevant post flip.