Startups need lots of legal help. That’s why LawAdvisor participated in an event organised by Startup Victoria last Monday to put a group of Melbourne startups in the room with some of Australia’s leading lawyers to chat about the legal issues commonly faced by startups.

LawAdvisor sits at the junction of legal services and technology. We’re a startup ourselves, and know just how difficult it can be to find legal advice.

Our mission is to make it easier for everyone to access justice, and as such we’re introducing clients to lawyers they might not ordinarily get the chance to meet. We’re building a way of doing law that better serves startups, small businesses and individual clients.

We love working with our early adopters. Lawyers from firms big and small, that recognise change is coming in the delivery of legal services, are passionate about working with startups and innovative companies, and willing to try new technology in order to best serve their clients’ needs.

One early adopter is Richard Partridge, a partner at Gadens which is one of Australia’s largest law firms. He was also one of the first lawyers to join LawAdvisor. Recently Richard volunteered some of his time in order to speak to a room full of 30 startup founders, as part of Startup Victoria’s legal workshop.

Richard joined US-based lawyer Kathy Woeber Gardner from Montgomery Pacific Law Group, and Australia-based lawyer and migration agent Glenn Pereira to answer some common questions facing startup founders. What’s the best way to reward my employees with equity? Should I encourage investors to sign a non-disclosure agreement? How do I need to structure my business in order to receive money from US investors?

Those founders left with a better grasp of those problems, and a relationship with a lawyer should they need further advice.

It’s fantastic that Richard recognised the importance of supporting our startup ecosystem, and was willing to share his knowledge with those in attendance.

While our online platform is the largest and most public way we help individuals find lawyers, and lawyers find clients, we’re also working hard to build a community that helps those connections grow offline too.