Los Angeles Technology
Startup Attorney
Startup Business Coaching and Legal Consulting
Risk Reduction Specialists
“The companies who make the fewest mistakes win.” – Mark Zuckerberg
Technology Startups are by nature high risk ventures, but with tremendous upside potential. We advise technology startup entrepreneurs, founders, and their investors on risk reduction strategies. Early stage startups face several types of risks including:
- Legal Risk. This is the risk of getting sued in court or facing other legal challenges
- Financial Risk. This is the risk of undercapitalization or overspending and otherwise running out of startup capital
- Market Risk. This includes the risks associated with product development and productization, promotion and advertising, pricing and revenue channels, distribution, and related business and market factors
“RISK comes from not knowing what you are doing.” – Warren Buffet
Startup Law Firm & Legal Counsel for Technology Companies
Scaling Innovation through Lean Methodology and Expert Risk Mitigation
Technology startups are high-risk, high-reward ventures. In the fast-paced ecosystem of tech startup industry, the difference between a unicorn and a failed venture often comes down to risk management.
We provide elite legal counsel and business coaching for tech founders, entrepreneurs, and investors with focus on early-stage ventures requiring complex productization, marketing, and competitive barrier strategy consultation.
“Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.” – Warren Buffett
“The companies who make the fewest mistakes win.” – Mark Zuckerberg
Los Angeles Tech Startup Attorney and Consultant David Nima Sharifi: The Intersection of Law and Entrepreneurship
As a premier technology startup attorney in Los Angeles, David Nima Sharifi understands the anatomy of a technology startup business ventures. David applies the Lean Startup Methodology to legal and business affairs, offering a level of strategic insight few attorneys can match.
Comprehensive Legal & Business Services:
Strategic Company Formation: Optimizing entity structures for future funding rounds.
Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy: Protecting your “secret sauce” through trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
Pitch Deck & Business Plan Consultation: Crafting narratives that resonate with VCs and Angel investors.
Deal Structuring & Contract Negotiation: Ensuring early-stage agreements protect your long-term interests.
A Proven Track Record of Success
David’s perspective is forged in the trenches of entrepreneurship. He launched his first startup at age 18 and navigated the CPG industry while earning his JD. This dual-lens approach, Attorney + Investor, is what sets his counsel apart.
Investment Expertise: Former member of the Investment Committee at Westwood Ventures (a micro-fund of AVG), deploying capital alongside lead investors in exclusive, high-growth deals.
Industry Recognition: Named among the Top 30 Most Influential Digital Media and E-Commerce Law Attorneys.
Expert Media Commentary: Featured on the Wall Street Journal and CBS News as a leading authority on the legalities of innovation.
Startup Legal Strategy Requires Business Judgment
You don’t just need a business lawyer. You need a lawyer who understands business.
Startup decisions involve interconnected legal, market, and financial risks. We consider the company’s actual stage, product, business model, capital constraints, market entry, and commercial objectives when evaluating legal priorities. Depending on the engagement, concepts such as MVP, POC, PMF, GTM, CAC, and the 4Ps of marketing can serve as commercial inputs to legal and business affairs strategy—for example, deciding when to invest in IP protection, how to structure an early partnership, which commitments are appropriate before product validation, or what should be addressed before fundraising or launch.
Fractional General Counsel — Quarterback Your Legal & Business Affairs.
For companies that need ongoing senior legal leadership but are not ready for a full-time in-house general counsel, LATML can serve as a central outside adviser coordinating intellectual property, contracts, transactions, compliance, disputes, and specialized counsel. The objective is an integrated legal and business-affairs function aligned with the company’s growth priorities.
Tech Startup Legal Services
As an expert Los Angeles tech startup attorney providing consultation to technology companies since 2007, our law firm delivers a wealth of best practices to startups in the areas of:
- Company formation
- Seed funding
- Founder equity splits, vesting, buyouts, and ownership terms
- Intellectual property protection and IP assignment agreements
- Strategic partnership agreements , and
- A variety of many other legal and business affairs when establishing a new technology startup in the United States.
David Nima Sharifi has been recognized as a leading attorney for tech startup business in Los Angeles.
Intellectual Property Law is the stock-in-trade of technology innovation in mobile applications, websites, web-based social networks, and other verticals of the digital ecosystem. Intellectual Property protection may prove to be central to competitive protection and monetization of the venture. Some legal issues presented in technology products and services include:
- Branding and Trademark Protection
- Copyright Clearance and Software Licensing
- Intellectual Property and Competitive Barrier Strategy
- Company formation, formalities, and Co-Founder Agreements
- Truth in Advertising Laws
- Website Terms of Service and Privacy Policies
- Confidentiality Agreements
- Venture Capital or Angel Investment Agreements, Crowdfunding Law
- Contracts with Suppliers and Service Providers
- Competitive Advantage, Marketing and Monetization Strategy
L.A. Tech & Media Law provides legal and business consultation to technology startups and growth stage companies in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Downtown L.A. and other Southern California communities.
Legal and Business Affairs Services Tailored For Tech Startups
With exclusive focus on technology and new media law since 2007, we consult entrepreneurs on a variety of legal and business affairs commonly faced by tech startups.
Company Formation for Startups
Consultation on best company structure options between sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or limited liability company formation strategies and due diligence. Startup entity formation may include forming a corporation or limited liability company and issuing stock to the founders and shareholders, drafting of company bylaws or operating agreement, preparing stock or membership certificates for signatures, assistance with bank account and employee identification number set up, and intellectual property transfer agreements to the newly formed entity.
Trademark Search, Clearance, and Registration
Trademark consultation and registration services for startups and entrepreneurs may include a trademark search and clearance report, and consultation on the startup’s specific trademark, slogan, company name, domain name, and logo design protection strategy, together with preparation and filing of a Federal Trademark Registration application with United Stated Patent and Trademark Office. Learn more about trademark protection and the benefits of trademark registration on at our practice areas page, or under the trademark tag of the LATML Tech & IP Blog. See also David N. Sharifi’s article published in the Beverly Hills Bar Association IP & Tech blog discussing the importance of trademarks in digital market.
Intellectual Property Protection and Competitive Barrier Strategy™
We provide comprehensive consultation and review of startups business model, revenue model, and product development strategy and identify, intellectual property and competitive barrier strategy under copyright law, trademark law, trade secret law, patent law, contracts and other legal and business options.
Contract Consultation, Negotiation, and Drafting for Startups
Our law firm consults startups on standard and industry specific contracts which may include drafting, review and negotiation of agreements with website developers, designers, marketing consultants, SEO companies, and other third parties a startup or technology enterprise may work with at various stages. We also provide custom Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA, Confidentiality Agreement) to help protect clients’ intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks, designs logos, ideas, and other vital proprietary assets during “discussion periods” with potential collaborators, and advise CEOs and entrepreneurs on discussions of their ideas with outside parties without unnecessarily disclosing confidential information.
Customized Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure Agreement
There is a plethora of “free” non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality agreements online. Do not rely on these forms to protect confidential information. After a confidential discussion with our startup clients, we may draft a customized confidentiality agreement and consult CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders on how to discuss business with investors and other third parties on a need to know basis, and protect sensitive business information in the process.
The Best Law Firm for Tech Startups, New Media Companies, and Engineers
We share our entrepreneur clients’ passion for innovation and take pride in delivering sophisticated legal advice to help tech startups navigate the various stages of product development and launch in early stage ventures. Visit our resources page for some of the best guides we’ve identified as useful to help technology startups succeed, particularly links to bothsidesofthetable.com, startupsuncensored.com, and venturehacks.com, all of which are excellent resources for startups on topics such as investor funding, raising venture capital, founder equity considerations, and practical tips on web development, online marketing, investment trends. Also visit our LATML Tech & IP Blog where we frequently discuss legal and business strategies for technology ventures.
Founders often need integrated support across formation, IP protection, and growth transactions. See our Corporate/M&A counsel and Trademark strategy or Trademark Litigation pages for related guidance.
Work with a Los Angeles Tech Startup Attorney to consult on due diligence and stay investor-ready.
If you are forming, funding, scaling, or preparing a technology company for diligence or an exit, schedule a confidential consultation to identify legal gaps, prioritize risk, and strengthen deal-readiness.
“I knew I had found an excellent lawyer to handle my business. He is knowledgeable, personable and takes the time to explain everything in detail.”
- Technology Startup Client
CONTACT
L.A. TECH & MEDIA LAW FIRM
12121 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 810, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
Office: 310-751-0181
Fax: 310-882-6518
Email: info@latml.com
SUBSCRIBE
- Trademark and Copyright Protection
- Corporate Law & Entity Formation
- Cofounder Agreements
- Confidential Proprietary Rights
- Startup Funding Strategy
- Intellectual Property (IP) Protection
- Competitive Barrier Strategy
- Pitch Deck and Lean Startup Consultation
- Software Licensing Agreements
- Patent Protection
- Corporate Governance
- Contract Negotiation
- Digital Publishing Agreements
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Business Litigation
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