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Comment by joshmn | Hacker News Reader

> Don't sue your attorney for malpractice if he is a named partner at THE premier law firm in the Valley. (For the record, I did not do this, but one of my co-founders did. He personally sued John Goodrich, of the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Oh yeah, the same guy sued ME and all my other co-founders too.)

And...? What happened? Such a cliffhanger!

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Bottom line - don't sue any attorney. You will be financially exhausted before they even break a sweat (I know this - I'm a lawyer for a big investment firm). For you to win the attorney will have had to be literally fall down drunk throughout the entire process; a bad judgment call doesn't equal a big cash settlement. Instead, hit them where it hurts. Big law firms are hemorrhaging money and their only hope for survival is a steady stream of victims - I mean - clients. If you think your attorney is a effing up, threaten to tell all your friends, colleagues, etc. about your bad experience. You won't win in court, but you might win in the court of public opinion.

Also, negotiate the sh&t out of your bills. Think of bills from your lawyer/firm as an opening offer. Only suckers pay what is put in front of them. Any savvy client gets hours written off.

Also, avoid future hassles with co-founders by setting the terms early and often. A simple LLC will clearly delineate who gets what and protect everyone from liability extending beyond the company's own holdings. If you feel like you can't afford an attorney at this juncture, a LOT of law schools offer free services and will gladly do the contract work for you. And when you get that letter of intent or first inkling of an offer, get a lawyer ASAP. They will help you get the best terms in the most tax-efficient manner possible.

Maybe this: http://blog.sueraisty.com/push-out-founder-prestock/

Oh, that mentions that the startup happened 15+ years ago. I feel like that might've been relevant to mention in this post too... It's a fast changing world in the valley.

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