On today’s Tank Talk! We welcome Chris Harvey, principal lawyer at Harvey Esquire APC to talk “Emerging Managers Legals 101.”
Chris Background: Chris Harvey has been practicing law for 12 years as a venture capital lawyer with a focus on emerging fund managers, accelerators, venture studios, GPs and other venture investors.
Chris regularly represents venture capital fund managers and investors in structuring fund formations and transaction documents such as LPAs, LLC/operating agreements, Series Seed, Series A, mergers & acquisitions, and all matters related to the venture capital lifecycle.
Chris is based out of Los Angeles and shares amazing content on his blog LawofVC.substack.com.
In this episode we discuss:
01:47 Considerations when choosing a lawyer for your fund
04:12 The questions you should ask a potential lawyer
05:27 Pitfalls of choosing the wrong lawyer
06:52 Fund structures
11:10 Formation and fund expenses
15:10 GP commitments
17:40 Clawbacks versus commitments
22:13 What are hurdles
25:43 Reporting requirements
28:28 Initial closure and rolling closures
34:12 Offering GP economics to close strategic investors
36:10 Budgeting for legal expenses
37:29 Using Angelist to support your initial legal work
38:50 Giving away carry as incentive to outside advisors as incentive or compensation
41:00 Is venture legal ripe for disruption?
44:18 Can VCs hedge against SPACs?
46:58 Chris’s best advice for emerging managers
Books Chris Recommends:
The Business of Venture Capital, Third Edition
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Tank Talks Episode 30 Chris Harvey talks “Emerging Managers Legals 101”