
đ Podcast #8 - Forward's Thomas Scott & Matt Gipple on Blending Tech Culture with Legal Principles
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TLDR
Forward is a revolutionary preventive healthcare membership that puts you in control of your health, with world-class doctors supported by technology.
Lawyers at startups are responsible for making things happen - this means nonstop learning and deciding where and when to take risks
Learn how to show where legal should and shouldn't be used
Don't underestimate the importance of intellectual curiosity
Communicate directly and with a belief in your objective
Resources Mentioned:
Intro
Matt Gipple and Thomas Scott, leading lawyers at Forward, discuss some common questions concerning the legal side of tech startups.Â
Entering the Tech SpaceÂ
It is important to understand the language of engineering in order to understand the dynamics of the space
âEngineering is the function of a company, so you have to learn how engineers think and talk and what motivates themâ
Try to set yourself up environment where persistent, perpetual learning is encouragedÂ
The Role of A Lawyer in a Highly Regulated Startup
In this scenario, lawyers are responsible for making things happenÂ
Constantly helping your company figure out what rules cover their product/initiative and what you need to get done to launch
Being able to take the necessary risks to keep the company and culture progressing forwardÂ
âFor companies that are small and trying to grow, there is risk all over the place, but there is also risk in not stepping forwardâ
Performing in Multiple RolesÂ
It is important to learn to frame tasks in terms of tradeoffs
 Ex: âFor the first time, legal will go through this with you, but after that it wonât make sense to pay lawyers to do thisâ
Analyzing what the company is ready for and whenÂ
Having an idea of what a mature company looks like, and knowing âwhen is the right timeâ to start doing something can be really importantÂ
On Culture and ToneÂ
Two of the most important qualities a person can have in the legal startup space are a comfort with change and an intellectual curiosity
The people who end up being the best fit are almost always nerds about somethingÂ
For a culture in a legal team, you want people who develop relationships and dialogues around questions instead of finding narrow answersÂ
Donât underestimate the downside cost of hiring someone who isnât the right fitÂ
Approaching Regulatory Issues in an Unfamiliar Industry
Do as much reading as possible, conferences, talking to people in the space, learning the buzzwords
Lean on outside counsel to give you contextÂ
âYou hired me because you think I'm great [as a generalist], but I'm going to spend money getting smart on these [specific] issues, and you want me to do thatâ
Go to first principlesÂ
âWhat are the underlying things that a regulator would be worried about?âÂ
Reason by analogyÂ
Approaching regulators with a straightforward and honest philosophy
We believe we have a service thatâs going to be really powerful and valuable to people, and weâre not afraid of that or ashamed of that or trying to hide anythingâÂ
Be very clear and direct, donât try to play games or omit things
About Lawtrades
Lawtrades is a software company that builds legal infrastructure for in-house teams to scale their operations. We develop software that serve as the connective tissue between an organizations in-house legal team, a tech-enabled workforce, and sophisticated analytics to help companies solve complex legal issues. To meet a Lawtrades lawyer, especially those specializing in hyper-growth tech companies, create a position.