Founding
fixed fee, from$1,400
For two to four founders setting up a company together.
- Founders' agreement with vesting
- Share structure and first share issue
- Customer terms for your first sales
- A one hour call to explain it all
Agreements drafted before the deal, not after the dispute
Keystone Commercial Law drafts contracts, shareholder agreements and customer terms for founders and growing companies. We agree a fixed fee before we start, write in plain words wherever the law allows, and walk you through every clause before you sign.
Fixed feesagreed before work starts
5 working daysfor most first drafts
Every clauseexplained before signing
- Founders, directors and boards
- Fixed fees in writing
- First drafts in about a week
- Meetings by video across time zones
Three packages for three stages of a company
Each package has a fixed fee and a written scope. Anything outside that scope is quoted before we do it.
First investment
fixed fee, from$3,800
For a first round from angels, a fund or friends and family.
- Term sheet review before you agree
- Shareholder agreement and updated company rules
- Help with the disclosure list
- Signing and completion checklist
Counsel on call
a month, from$750
For companies with a steady flow of contracts to check.
- Up to six hours each month
- Contract reviews within three working days
- Board minutes and resolutions checked
- Cancel with one month's notice
Documents we draft and review (example reviews)
Prices are starting points for a typical document. We confirm the fee once we have seen what you need.
Shareholder agreements
Who decides what, how shares change hands, and what happens if a founder leaves or the company is sold.
Draftfrom $1,900
Customer terms
Terms of sale or service that match how you really sell, with liability limits you can explain to a customer.
Draftfrom $850
Supplier and distribution contracts
Exclusivity, minimum orders, territory and what happens when a delivery goes wrong.
Draft or reviewfrom $700
Confidentiality agreements
One way or mutual, and short enough that the other side signs it the same day.
Draftfrom $250
Website terms and privacy notices
Plain terms for your site or app, and a privacy notice that matches the data you actually collect.
Bothfrom $600
Contract reviews (example reviews)
A marked up copy of the other side's draft, with a note on the three changes that matter most.
Reviewfrom $400
A contract you can read is a contract you can keep
Most disputes between business partners start with a clause nobody understood when they signed. We write in plain words wherever the law allows, and every draft comes with a short note that says, in a sentence each, what the clauses do.
Before you sign, we go through the document with you on a call or across the table and answer every question. If a term cannot be explained in a sentence, we rewrite it until it can.
- A plain summary with every draft
- Two rounds of changes in every fixed fee
- Calls with your cofounders or investors
- Signed copies stored with a clear index
Clauses founders ask about first
General explanations, not advice for your company. Names and effects vary by country, and we explain them against your own facts.
| Clause | What it decides | A question worth asking |
|---|---|---|
| Vesting | How a founder earns their shares over time | What happens to unvested shares if someone leaves? |
| Drag along | Whether a majority can require the rest to join a sale | What price or majority sets it off? |
| Tag along | Whether minority holders can join a sale on the same terms | Does it cover partial sales as well? |
| Deadlock | What happens when equal owners cannot agree | Is there a way out that does not end the company? |
| Limitation of liability | The most either side can owe if things go wrong | Is the cap linked to the value of the contract? |
| Governing law | Which country's law and courts apply | Could you realistically bring a case there? |
From brief to signed copy
Your brief
A short form or a call: what the deal is, who is involved and when it must be signed.
A fixed fee
Within two working days, a written scope and fee. Nothing starts until you agree.
First draft
Usually within five working days, with a plain summary of every clause.
Two rounds of changes
Your comments and the other side's, worked through on calls and in marked up copies.
Signing
A final check, a signing checklist and an indexed set of signed copies.
Inside the warehouse
Founders on working with Keystone (example reviews)
The shareholder agreement came with a one page summary that both founders actually read. Two years on, it settled a disagreement in an afternoon.
A fixed fee, a firm date and a call to walk through the term sheet before the investors arrived. Nothing about the process felt like guesswork.
Contract reviews come back in three days with the important changes flagged first. Exactly what a growing sales team needs.
What founders ask before the first call
There are only two of us. Do we need a shareholder agreement?
It is most useful while things are going well, because that is when you can agree calmly what happens if one of you leaves, falls ill or wants to sell. Without one, local company law fills the gaps, and its defaults rarely match what founders expect.
Can you review a contract the other side drafted?
Yes. You receive a marked up copy and a short note on the changes that matter most, so you can decide where to push and where to let go.
Do you take shares instead of fees?
No. We charge fixed fees or a monthly retainer, so our advice is never shaped by a stake in your company.
Which country's law will our contracts follow?
Usually the one chosen in the contract, within limits. Contract and company law, legal fees and who may advise all differ by country; we act only where our lawyers are qualified and tell you when you need local advice elsewhere.
What if the deal changes halfway through?
We tell you before doing anything outside the agreed scope, with a fee for the extra work, and you decide.
Does reading this site count as advice?
No. It sets out our services and our way of working, nothing more. Advice turns on your company's own facts and starts once we have agreed in writing to act.
Send us your brief
A few lines are enough. A lawyer answers within a working day, either with questions or with a fixed fee.
Describe the deal in words for now; there is no need to send drafts until we have agreed to act and checked for conflicts.
Keystone, by the canal
Call or write
A converted warehouse by the canal, with video meetings for clients in other time zones
When we are in
| Monday to Friday | 08:30 to 18:00 |
| Signing deadlines | Evening calls by arrangement |
| Weekends | Closed |
Signing to a deadline?
Put the date in your brief. Evening calls can be arranged for signings across time zones, and we say plainly if a deadline cannot be met properly.