For Lawyers: A Guide to Being a Early-Stage Service Provider Lawyer

Introduction

The Fidelity Private Shares Early-Stage Service Providers is designed to connect our clients with modern service providers - those who are focused on working with startups, tech savvy, and, in the case of attorneys, ready to work effectively with companies on the platform. Our team is grateful for the contributions of the attorneys featured and we are glad to have the ability to refer clients to you through this medium. 

That said, you may be wondering, “what does being an Early-Stage Service Provider mean for me and my practice?” We created this guide to help you successfully connect with, and represent, companies on the platform. 

Getting connected

• Your contact information is provided in your profile, so clients will reach out to you directly and indicate that they found you on there.
• During these conversations, we encourage you to highlight your work with our other clients, and provide some examples of how the platform has made this collaboration more efficient.
• You can also indicate that we are helpful for startups who want to manage their equity, HR, governance and financings all on one platform, and that the platform is designed to help startups and their counsel work together.

Starting out 

• Companies will register you as counsel through a workflow. This will allow you to see their information, review documents they’ve generated, and run workflows on their behalf. 
• Consider what Counsel Involvement Settings are appropriate for each company. For example, first time founders may need more oversight than those with more experience, so it may be appropriate for a greater number of their workflows to be set to Counsel Review Required. 
• We encourage you to keep a list of your clients who are on the platform and update it when new companies register you as counsel. This can help prevent unnecessary drafting of documents outside of the platform where a workflow could have been utilized. 
• We encourage you to familiarize yourself with this list of workflows for a quick reference of available actions on the platform.

Working together

• Companies will expect that you know the platform well, and that you will utilize the platform whenever possible. We encourage you to rely on our Support Center articles for guidance on how our workflows function, and turn to our client services team if you have questions. 
• It’s also wise to have conversations with your client about who should run specific workflows. Day to day company actions are often best handled by company executives, whereas more complex workflows, like those relating to financings, might be better suited to you. 
• If you are running a workflow for the first time and want to understand how it will go, refer to the Support Center article for a summary, or reach out to our Support team, and we’ll be happy to walk you through the workflow. 

If an issue arises

• Our Support team is here to help! You can always reach us at [e-mail] or schedule a time to speak with a member of our Support team here. 
• We can provide additional training to help you feel comfortable on the platform, provide guidance on best practices, and address any questions you have about your work with a particular client. 

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Fidelity does not provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is general in nature and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific situation.

Fidelity Private Shares LLC provides cap table management and other administrative services to private companies and their equity compensation plans.
Fidelity Private Shares LLC

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