On today’s Tank Talk! We welcome Kyle Westaway, founder and Managing Partner of Westaway, an innovative law firm for startups.
Guest Background:
Kyle is is a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School where he co-teaches a course on social entrepreneurship. He’s the author of Profit & Purpose and every Saturday morning he sends out the Weekend Briefing, a newsletter on how innovation is impacting society.
In this episode we discuss:
01:22 The tension between lawyers and startups
02:59 How lawyers can better align to startups
07:07 The pitfalls of getting pro-bono or deferred fee legal services
08:56 The benefits of negotiating a flat fee
10:10 Finding a balance between risk and optimism
14:21 Communicating the building experience to lawyers
16:30 Keeping your lawyer connected to your business through updates
20:10 Solving the unpredictability of legal fees
23:15 How startups can better vet potential lawyers
24:46 The legal services startups need
26:16 Purpose of the general counsel
27:13 The Legal as a Service is evolving
28:51 The different service levels Westaway offers
30:10 How referrals have grown over time
Books Kyle recommends:
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Rising Strong by Brené Brown
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Kyle Westaway on reimagining the law firm to serve startups - Tank Talks 34