Ask HN: Good place for Legal Help on Startup

1 pointcrixlet2 comments

I'm working on a startup that'll help freelancers collect unpaid invoices. I have a feeling that this is treading into murky legal waters and i'm not sure of the first place to look for how to be protected & cover my bases. Any good places to look or consult for legal advice? Or, are there blanket ToS that will cover any startup from a good range of possible pitfalls?

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You have two different things happening here:

1. Normal startup legal issues (corporate form, employment law, tax, funding, IP, etc)

2. Subject matter legal issues. The subject matter you've chosen (collections) is a highly regulated activity, at the state and federal level. You need to find someone who does collections (also called debtor/creditor) to help you understand what you can and can't do. A TOS document doesn't help limit your liability to third parties - like debtors - who may gain the right to sue you if you screw up. And that's a profitable niche for some attorneys - representing debtors who want to sue creditors/collectors who don't follow the rules. Your TOS can insist that your customers indemnify you - which may turn out to be worth nothing, if the customers are insolvent/thinly capitalized.

Thanks for the reply. Re: #2, I'm not sure if i'm necessarily treading in the collections water. It's more of an added service (similar to invoicing) to help freelancers persistently remind (aka nag) their clients that are slow to pay or haven't paid. I'm wondering if by structuring the service in this manner if I can avoid becoming a debtor/collector. Apologies to bring the response a bit off topic -- I guess i'm in the process of figuring out what my question actually really is. Appreciate your feedback.

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