When is an attorney necessary?

The basic answer, unfortunately, is that when it's apparent that you need an attorney, you almost always needed to have one yesterday.

Anything you expect to be legally binding, or that might wind up being dealt with in court someday -- such as incorporation, contracts, partnership agreements -- should be looked over by a lawyer. You'll most likely save yourself time and money in the long run if you meet a lawyer and develop a relationship long before you think you need to -- because that way, when you do need a lawyer, you'll know who to turn to and your lawyer will have some idea of who you are.

We have some founders, some ideas, and some demo products...hopefully we'll start pitching in the next few weeks. Do we need a lawyer now? Or can we wait until we get a term sheet and go from there?

How long can you go without one and when must you have one?

haha... I think you just know in your gut when you need one.

in the case of MURDER

Great topic. Does anyone have any recommendations for affordable but competent (heh) lawyers in the Bay Area?

Also, since forming a C Corp is considered to be the Right Thing to Do, what about accounting? Can you just get QuickBooks and be ok, or do you really need a CPA?