Kyle Westaway on reimagining the law firm to serve startups - Tank Talks 34

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 McKeownRising Strong by Brené Brown

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