Hi, I’m Chris Walton, author of this guide and CEO of Eton Venture Services.
I’ve spent much of my career working as a corporate transactional lawyer at Gunderson Dettmer, becoming an expert in tax law & venture financing. Since starting Eton, I’ve completed thousands of business valuations for companies of all sizes.
Read my full bio here.
Expert legal counsel can be the difference between whether your startup thrives or sinks.
Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of startup founders for their business valuation needs and have connected them with reliable and highly experienced legal firms in the U.S.
To help you find the best startup law firms, I analyzed Pitchbook Data—a private capital market and research database—and selected 20 law firms particularly suitable for startups.
For each firm, I’ll describe:
While the number of deals and companies served doesn’t guarantee they’re great for every startup, it does show they have experience and expertise in specific fields.
Also, my own experience with some of the firms on the list indicates that they are trustworthy and reliable for startups seeking legal guidance.
However, please note that the information I’ll present does not constitute an endorsement of any specific firm. You should always conduct your own due diligence before selecting legal counsel.
PitchBook Data, with its extensive VC and startup investment database, can help identify suitable law firms for startups. It tells you:
However, relying only on metrics like deal numbers and companies served to find the “best” firm has both benefits and limitations.
While Pitchbook Data offers valuable insights, relying solely on its metrics for a definitive “best” firm presents an incomplete picture. Consider these additional factors:
Pitchbook Data provides a helpful starting point, but the “best” law firm for your startup is a subjective decision.
Use the data, but go beyond numbers, delve into firm culture, individual experiences, and alignment with your unique needs to find the true legal partner for your venture’s success.
Based on PitchBook data for January 2025, we ranked firms by the total number of venture capital deals they advised on, whether investor-side or company-side.
Hire Business Valuation and Startup M&A SpecialistsAt Eton Venture Services, we’re a team of ex-Lawyers and Big 4 Consultants who specialize in startup advisory and business valuations. Over the years, we’ve delivered over 10,000+ thorough, robust startup valuations and have supported thriving startups like Pinterest, Substack and Perplexity.ai. Contact us here to learn more about our services—and please note, if we can’t help you, we’ll be happy to help you find the best law firm for your needs.
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No. of Deals: 627 No. of Serviced Companies: 623 Specialization: Venture capital, emerging companies Based In: HQ in California, with offices worldwide including São Paulo, Beijing, Singapore Company Website: https://www.gunder.com/en |
Gunderson Dettmer is a leading law firm for venture capital and emerging companies. (Fun Fact: I’m an ex-Gunderson lawyer!)
Ranked #1 VC firm globally by PitchBook for ten years, they offer expert legal services for all business stages.
Gunderson Dettmer works with AI, fintech, crypto, and life sciences industries.
Their specialties include corporate strategy, data privacy, mergers, IPOs, debt financing, executive compensation, and more.
No. of Deals: 557 No. of Serviced Companies: 550 Specialization: Tech and life sciences Based In: Palo Alto, California, USA, with offices worldwide including London and Brussels Company Website: https://www.cooley.com/ |
Cooley LLP is a prominent global law firm known for its expertise in representing high-growth technology and life sciences companies.
With over 1,300 lawyers across 19 offices in the United States, Asia, and Europe, Cooley excels in corporate law, intellectual property, litigation, and regulatory matters.
📖 Related Read: Venture Capital Valuation: 7 VC Valuation Methods & the Process
No. of Deals: 332 No. of Serviced Companies: 330 Specialization: Life sciences, private equity, real estate, technology, and financial services industries Based In: Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Company Website: http://goodwinlaw.com/ |
Goodwin Procter LLP is a global law firm started in 1912. It has offices in major financial and tech centers around the world.
The firm works in sectors like life sciences, private equity, real estate, technology, and financial services.
It’s known for its expertise in complex transactions, high-stakes litigation, and regulatory compliance.
No. of Deals: 254 No. of Serviced Companies: 696 Specialization: Technology, energy, infrastructure, finance Based In: Headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, with offices globally including London, Paris, Tokyo, and Beijing. Company Website: http://orrick.com/ |
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is a global law firm specializing in technology, energy, infrastructure, and finance.
The Financial Times has named them a top three innovative law firm for seven years.
Their services include antitrust, AI, cybersecurity, complex litigation, and more.
No. of Deals: 255 No. of Serviced Companies: 255 Specialization: Technology, life sciences Based In: Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA, with offices across the United States and internationally such as Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, and Shanghai. Company Website: https://www.wsgr.com/en/ |
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR) is a top law firm for technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises.
Founded in 1961 in Palo Alto, they have been pivotal in major IPOs, such as Apple and Google, and recently represented Twitter in the $44 billion take-private bid by Elon Musk.
WSGR offers services in corporate law, intellectual property, litigation, and regulatory affairs.
📖 Related Read: Intellectual Property Valuation | 5 Methods & Checklist
No. of Deals: 124 No. of Serviced Companies: 123 Specialization: Life sciences and technology Based In: Headquartered in California, USA, with offices in San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Shanghai. Company Website: http://fenwick.com/ |
Founded in 1972, Fenwick & West LLP is a top law firm specializing in technology and life sciences. They are famous for helping to incorporate Apple and taking Oracle and eBay public.
Fenwick is known for its practice in:
They also use AI and data-driven pricing tools to better serve their clients.
No. of Deals: 121 No. of Serviced Companies: 121 Specialization: Full-service firm Based In: Los Angeles, California, USA, with offices globally including London, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing Company Website: http://lw.com/ |
Latham & Watkins LLP, founded in 1934, is a leading global law firm with over 3,500 lawyers in 14 countries. They are known for handling big deals like Reddit’s $748 million IPO and Viking’s $1.54 billion IPO.
They serve many industries, including:
Latham & Watkins offers a wide range of services, such as:
They are known for their innovative approach and have received many top industry awards, including “Most Innovative Law Firm in North America” by the Financial Times.
No. of Deals: 116 No. of Serviced Companies: 116 Specialization: Venture capital, emerging growth companies Based In: HQ in London, UK, with major offices in the US and worldwide across 40+ countries Company Website: https://www.dlapiper.com/ |
Latham & Watkins LLP, founded in 1934, is a leading global law firm with over 3,500 lawyers in 14 countries. They are known for handling big deals like Reddit’s $748 million IPO and Viking’s $1.54 billion IPO.
They serve many industries, including:
Latham & Watkins offers a wide range of services, such as:
They are known for their innovative approach and have received many top industry awards, including “Most Innovative Law Firm in North America” by the Financial Times.
No. of Deals: 100 No. of Serviced Companies: 100 Specialization: Venture financings and M&A Based In: Headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA, with offices in Los Angeles, Denver, and Austin. Company Website: https://www.siliconlegal.com/ |
Silicon Legal Strategy is a top boutique law firm, specializing in corporate counseling, venture financings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and enterprise commercial transactions.
It has been recognized among the top 10 most active venture capital law firms by PitchBook for five consecutive years. Silicon Legal Strategy has handled over 2,000 venture financings and more than 125 M&A transactions since 2019.
It serves clients in various industries, including:
Notable clients include Webflow and Lyft.
No. of Deals: 98 No. of Serviced Companies: 97 Specialization: Energy, healthcare, technology, etc. Based In: New York, Washington D.C., London, and Beijing, and more. Company Website: http://dentons.com/ |
Founded in 2013, Dentons is the world’s largest law firm with over 12,000 lawyers in more than 200 locations across 80+ countries. They offer a wide range of legal services, including:
Dentons excels in sectors such as energy, healthcare, and technology.
No. of Deals: 90 No. of Serviced Companies: 88 Specialization: Energy, real estate, financial services, technology Based In: Headquartered in New York, USA, with offices across the US, Europe, and Asia Company Website: http://pillsburylaw.com/ |
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is a well-known law firm founded in 1868. It excels in technology, energy, financial services, and real estate sectors.
Pillsbury offer many services, including:
Pillsbury is known for its innovative practices and excellent client service, with many awards from Financial Times and BTI Consulting.
No. of Deals: 83 No. of Serviced Companies: 83 Specialization: Full-service law firm Based In: Headquartered in Wisconsin, USA, with offices across the US Company Website: http://michaelbest.com/ |
Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is a full-service law firm.
They offer services in the following:
It works across industries such as:
The firm is known for its collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to serving clients worldwide.
No. of Deals: 75 No. of Serviced Companies: 75 Specialization: Venture capital deal financings Based In: Headquartered in New York, USA, with additional offices in Princeton and Santa Monica. Company Website: http://reitlerlaw.com/ |
Reitler is a premier full-service law firm and leading venture firm. They have worked on over 2,000 venture financings and are consistently ranked in the Top 10 for venture capital deal activity.
Specializations:
Reitler caters to both emerging and established businesses with a high-touch, client-specific approach.
No. of Deals: 55 No. of Serviced Companies: 55 Specialization: Intellectual property, litigation, privacy law, and more Based In: Seattle, Washington, USA, with offices across the United States and Asia including Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei. Company Website: http://perkinscoie.com/ |
Perkins Coie LLP is a top international law firm, Known for working with clients like Google and Amazon.
The firm has many practice areas, including:
Perkins Coie serves various industries such as technology, aerospace and defense, energy, healthcare, and fintech.
No. of Deals: 55 No. of Serviced Companies: 55 Specialization: Full service Based In: HQ in Missouri, USA, with offices nationwide. Company Website: https://www.polsinelli.com/ |
Polsinelli, established in 1972 in Kansas City, Missouri, is a full-service law firm with over 1,000 attorneys across 23 offices nationwide.
Their core industries include healthcare, finance, real estate, technology, private equity, and life sciences.
They offer many services, some of them being intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, and corporate and transactional law.
The firm is highly regarded for its collaborative culture and commitment to client service.
No. of Deals: 51 No. of Serviced Companies: 51 Specialization: Venture capital, private equity, distributed ledger technology Based In: HQ in Berlin, Germany, with offices in Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, and London Company Website: https://ypog.law/ |
Since its founding in 2021, YPOG has rapidly grown to over 180 experienced legal and tax professionals and has become a leading German law firm specializing in venture capital, private equity, and distributed ledger technology. The firm has particular expertise in tech and digital industries.
Recent notable deals include advising fintech startup Xaver on its €5 million pre-seed financing round, one of Europe’s largest fintech pre-seed rounds in 2024.
YPOG is regularly recognized by leading publications like Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, and JUVE, indicating consistent quality and reliability for startup clients seeking trusted legal counsel in Germany.
No. of Deals: 50 No. of Serviced Companies: 50 Specialization: Corporate, litigation, intellectual property, and government relations Based In: HQ in South Carolina, USA, with offices across the US Company Website: https://www.nelsonmullins.com/ |
Nelson Mullins is an Am Law 100 firm. It specializes in corporate, litigation, intellectual property, and government relations for Fortune 500, venture funds, emerging growth companies, academic institutions, non-profits, individuals, and trusts.
No. of Deals: 48 No. of Serviced Companies: 48 Specialization: Venture capital, emerging companies, technology and media Based In: National law firm with over 350 lawyers working from five offices in New York, Palo Alto, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, D.C. Company Website: https://www.lowenstein.com/ |
Recognized as one of the nation’s most active law firms in venture capital and startups according to The Wall Street Journal, Lowenstein Sandler has handled thousands of matters for startups and growth companies in recent years.
The firm is most focused on technology and media companies, and their portfolio includes representing technology companies like VTS in its $125+ million Series E round and Revelio Labs in its $15 million Series A funding.
Lowenstein Sandler stands out for its VentureCrush platform, which provides educational and networking experiences connecting hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators in the venture community.
Many of their startup lawyers are also active entrepreneurs and investors themselves, bringing firsthand business experience to their legal practice.
No. of Deals: 45 No. of Serviced Companies: 44 Specialization: Growth equity, venture capital, tech M&A, fund formation Based In: HQ in Amsterdam, Netherlands Company Website: https://www.lowenstein.com/ |
Founded in 2014, Ingen Housz is a boutique Netherlands-based law firm with 17 professionals that has achieved remarkable recognition, ranking #1 VC law firm in Benelux, 5th in Europe, and 22nd globally according to PitchBook’s Q2 2025 rankings.
Notably, they leverage their network and knowledge to connect entrepreneurs and investors and help them build sustainable partnerships in the new economy.
The firm offers expertise in:
Their lawyers bring extensive transaction experience from top international law firms and are recognized for their hands-on approach to managing deals and deep understanding of corporate finance.
No. of Deals: 42 No. of Serviced Companies: 42 Specialization: Technology, life sciences Based In: HQ in London with over 1,200 lawyers worldwide including more than 400 partners Company Website: https://www.taylorwessing.com/ |
Taylor Wessing is an international, full-service law firm established in 2002 through the merger of UK’s Taylor Joynson Garrett (founded 1782) and Germany’s Wessing & Berenberg-Gossler (founded 1873).
The firm has a strong sector focus on technology and life sciences and is recognized for having one of the largest intellectual property teams in Europe.
They have created Outpace™, a digital legal platform specifically designed for startups that provides automated document production, streamlined legal workflows, and expert deal support to help early-stage businesses structure funding rounds and manage cap tables efficiently.
Have any questions about these law firms or about our business valuation services? Please feel free to call or email me here. I will be happy to answer all your questions. |
A 20-30 minute intro call can reveal a lot about whether a law firm you’re considering understands startups, respects your budget, and can actually move at your pace.
Asking the right questions up front also saves you from wasted time and costly missteps later, when switching firms or fixing mistakes becomes much harder.
The following questions will help you see how a law firm operates, who you’ll really be working with, and whether they’ve handled situations like yours before.
Here’s what to ask and what their answers should tell you:
1. Who will actually handle my work?
Many founders assume the partner they meet will run their deals, but most day-to-day tasks go to associates. The ideal setup is a senior lawyer overseeing strategy while junior lawyers or paralegals handle routine paperwork at lower rates. That way you get quality guidance without paying top partner fees for simple filings.
2. Have you worked with startups at my stage recently?
Legal needs change a lot as companies grow. Seed-stage challenges aren’t the same as Series B. A strong firm should point to recent, stage-specific examples with companies like yours, not just say “we work with tech.” This is how you know they understand the unique issues you’re facing right now.
3. How do you typically run a financing?
Financing involves a lot of moving parts: drafting documents, updating the cap table, getting board approvals, and closing with investors.
The best firms follow a clear playbook with checklists to keep things organized and flag investor terms that could hurt founders. A structured process shows they’ve done this many times before and know how to keep you out of trouble.
4. What fee options do you offer?
Legal bills can spiral quickly, and predictability is critical when cash is tight. If a firm only offers hourly billing with no cap, costs will keep climbing. The better choice is firms that provide flat-fee or capped pricing for standard startup work so you can budget with confidence.
5. How long does a typical round take?
Timelines matter when you’re raising money, and experienced firms know what’s realistic. The best ones can turn documents in days and close rounds in weeks, while also pointing out the common delays that can slow things down.
6. How do you handle founder IP and contractor work?
Clean IP assignment is non-negotiable for investors. The company (not individual founders or contractors) must own all code, designs, and other assets. A strong firm will make sure the right agreements are in place and can step in quickly to fix gaps if anything was overlooked.
7. What’s your approach to privacy and open-source software (OSS)?
Investors expect companies at any stage to handle data and software responsibly. A good firm will help you establish clear privacy policies and review open-source licenses early, rather than deferring these issues until they become bigger risks.
8. How will we communicate?
Clear communication saves time and prevents costly delays. The right firm will set expectations on response times, identify a primary contact, and agree on preferred channels so you’re not left waiting when decisions need to be made.
9. Do you also represent investors? How do you manage conflicts?
Many leading firms advise both startups and investors. That’s not an issue if they explain how conflicts are identified and managed. If they can’t clearly describe their process, it’s a sign you could be exposed later.
10. Can I speak with a founder you’ve worked with recently?
References reveal more than a polished pitch ever will. A firm that stands behind its work will readily connect you with founders they’ve supported in situations similar to yours.
Have more questions about law firms for startups? I answered them below:
Startups operate in a dynamic and complex legal environment, and often require support to navigate various challenges. Here are key reasons why:
Specialized legal support empowers startups to navigate complex legal landscapes, secure funding, and achieve sustainable growth.
It’s an investment that provides not just legal expertise, but also strategic guidance and access to valuable networks, ultimately contributing to the success of the young company.
The dynamic world of startups necessitates legal support that can keep pace. Here are key trends shaping startup law firms in 2024:
By embracing these trends, startup law firms can provide the specialized, adaptable, and cost-conscious support that young companies need to navigate the legal landscape and achieve sustainable growth.
The cost of legal services for a startup can vary widely based on factors like location, complexity of legal needs, and the specific services required. Here’s a general range to give you an idea:
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Chris Walton, JD, is President and CEO and co-founded Eton Venture Services in 2010 to provide mission-critical valuations to private companies. He leads a team that collaborates closely with each client’s leadership, board of directors, internal / external counsel, and independent auditors to develop detailed financial models and create accurate, audit-ready valuations.
