Start-Up & Innovation Advisory

Strategic IP and Legal Support for Scaling Founders

For high-growth technology startups, legal needs extend beyond individual filings. Effective legal support requires integrating intellectual property protection, commercial agreements, and due diligence into the company’s fundraising, product development, and expansion roadmap.

Lance IP’s Start-Up & Innovation Advisory is designed to function as an extended legal team for founders, providing structured, ongoing support that strengthens legal foundations and prepares businesses for investment and scale.

Our Advisory Philosophy

We approach startup advisory as a strategic partnership. Our focus is on anticipating legal risks early, aligning IP ownership with business goals, and ensuring that legal structures support growth rather than reacting to issues during fundraising or expansion.

Our Advisory Services

Fundraising Enablement and IP Due Diligence

Review of patent, trademark, and copyright portfolios to confirm ownership, validity, and scope
Freedom to Operate assessments to identify and manage infringement risks prior to market entry
Verification of chain of title and IP ownership through employee, founder, and contractor agreements

Strategic Legal Agreements

Drafting and review of confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements for external engagements
Employment and consulting agreements to ensure assignment of inventions, code, and proprietary information
Founders’ agreements addressing IP contributions, vesting, governance, and exit provisions
Preparation of terms of service and privacy policies for SaaS platforms, applications, and digital services

Ongoing Advisory and General Counsel Support

Retainer-based legal and IP advisory tailored to the evolving needs of scaling startups
Review and negotiation of commercial contracts, vendor agreements, and partnership documents
Guidance on data protection obligations and early-stage compliance considerations
Support on corporate governance, resolutions, and IP-related statutory filings

What Sets Lance IP Apart

Integrated approach combining IP protection with commercial and corporate legal strategy
Advisory informed by investor and due diligence expectations
Predictable retainer-based engagement models suited for growing startups

Case Studies

Med-Tech Funding Clean-Up – Securing Series

A promising med-tech startup approached us three months before its target Series A close. An initial investor audit revealed gaps in its contractor agreements—several early developers had not properly assigned the IP rights for critical code modules to the company. We immediately executed a legal clean-up strategy, tracing the development history, securing ratification of IP assignment through updated agreements, and documenting the complete chain of title. This quick, decisive action satisfied the VCs' due diligence requirements, preventing a deal-breaking IP ownership dispute and successfully securing multi-million dollar funding.

Scaling SaaS Platform – Proactive Risk Management

A rapidly growing B2B SaaS platform needed to shift its legal structure from a domestic model to one capable of handling global enterprise clients. We put the company on an advisory retainer, systematically reviewing and strengthening their entire legal stack. This included drafting enterprise-grade Terms of Service that protected against liability, implementing a system for managing open-source compliance, and creating a framework for international data transfer agreements, allowing the client to confidently sign large, global contracts without introducing systemic legal risk.

Let’s protect what you Create

Whether you are building a brand, developing new technology, or scaling a business, we are here to support your legal and intellectual property journey.