Free resource · For founders
Is Your Startup Ready for a General Counsel?
A self-assessment for founders navigating legal complexity.
Jason Acevedo | Updated September 8, 2026
Most founders hire legal help the way they hire everything early on: when something breaks. This assessment asks fifteen questions about how much legal work you actually have, what stage you are at, how you are handling it today, and where the surprises have come from. Each answer scores one to four points, and the total tells you whether as-needed outside counsel still fits, whether you have reached the point where someone should be coordinating the legal function, or whether you need legal leadership now. It takes about five minutes.
Your answers stay on this page and are not saved or sent anywhere.
0 of 15 answered · Score 0 / 60
Legal volume and complexity
1.How many contracts does your company review or negotiate per month?
2.How many different types of legal matters are you handling simultaneously?
3.How often do legal questions come up that require immediate attention?
Stage and growth
4.What is your company's current stage?
5.How many full-time employees do you have?
6.Are you actively fundraising or planning to within the next 6 months?
Governance and compliance
7.Do you have a board of directors with outside members?
8.How would you describe your cap table management?
9.How are you handling employment and HR legal compliance?
Current legal setup
10.How are you currently handling legal work?
11.How much are you spending on outside legal counsel annually?
12.How much founder time goes to managing legal matters each week?
Risk exposure
13.Has your company ever been surprised by a legal issue you didn't see coming?
14.How confident are you that your IP is properly assigned and protected?
15.If a VC ran diligence on your company tomorrow, how ready would you be?
Your result
Answer all fifteen questions to see your result.
Score of 60 · Band
How the bands work
15 to 25. You're in good shape with outside counsel on an as-needed basis. Focus on finding a great startup attorney who knows your space. You don't need dedicated legal leadership yet, but keep this assessment handy as you scale.
26 to 40. You're in the gray zone. Legal complexity is outpacing your current setup. This is where most founders start losing time and money to uncoordinated legal work. An outsourced GC or fractional legal leader could bring structure without the cost of a full-time hire.
41 to 60. You need dedicated legal leadership. The complexity is real and it's only going to increase. At this level, you're either spending too much on ad hoc legal, taking on risk you can't see, or burning founder time that should go to building. Whether that's a full-time GC or an outsourced model depends on budget and stage.
Where to go next
If you landed in the first band, how to find a good startup lawyer covers what to ask on the first call, and the cost guide covers what the work should run. If you landed in the second or third, the Due Diligence Readiness Scorecard shows you what an investor's counsel will ask for, which is usually where the uncoordinated work first becomes visible.
This assessment is general information, not legal advice, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship. If your result raises a question about how your company should be handling legal work, get in touch.