Fundraising-related support since 2024, including share, J-KISS and preferred share financing matters.
Startup Legal / LegalAgent
Startup legal counsel and fundraising support, from incorporation to IPO.
Legal support in Japan for J-KISS, investment and shareholders' agreements, stock options, contracts, privacy, employment, IP and governance. We support day-to-day legal work and financing rounds with a one-business-day response standard and predictable fixed fees.
1 business dayStandard response speed
Fixed feesPredictable matter pricing including ordinary revisions
From founding to post-IPOCoverage across stages and legal domains
Startup Clients & Partners
Numbers
Startup legal support, by the numbers
LegalAgent has supported growth-company decisions across fundraising, contract review and startup legal operations.
Startup legal support including capital policy, shareholder meetings and registration matters.
Contract review and drafting support, from ordinary legal work to larger transactions.
Legal due diligence and investment due diligence support for M&A and investment review.
* Approximate figures based on matters handled by the firm. Scope varies by matter.
Problems
Is legal work keeping pace with your growth?
Contract review is slowing revenue
Sales teams want to close today, but the deal waits for legal review. Legal response speed becomes business speed.
Fundraising, stock options and capital policy feel irreversible
Once term sheets arrive, founders face investment documents, tax-qualified stock options and option pool questions that may affect later rounds and IPO readiness.
The organization grows faster than its legal foundation
Employees increase while labor, IP and compliance remain unfinished. These issues are harder to fix when IPO preparation begins.
Roadmap
Legal support for each stage, from founding to IPO and beyond
We support the matters needed now while working backward from the next stage. The scope can expand from spot matters to a practical external legal function.
Stage 01
Founding
- Founder agreements
- Articles and governance
- Contract templates
Stage 02
Seed
- J-KISS issuance
- Terms and privacy policy
- Employment and service contracts
Stage 03
Series A
- Investment agreements
- Preferred stock
- Stock options and legal DD
Stage 04
Growth
- Contract playbooks
- Labor rules
- IP and trademark strategy
Stage 05
IPO preparation
- Governance rules
- Labor and contract checks
- Listing examination readiness
Stage 06
Post-IPO
- Disclosure and shareholder meetings
- M&A and group reorganization
- Ongoing corporate legal work
Financing and organization design
Operations and growth control
Why LegalAgent
Growth-oriented legal support, delivered by attorneys and AI agents
01
Speed that keeps business moving
AI agents help organize prior matters, templates and first drafts so attorneys can focus on judgment and negotiation. The standard one-business-day response reduces legal bottlenecks.
02
Predictable fixed fees
Matter-based pricing helps founders manage cash without uncertainty from hourly billing. Ordinary revisions are included in the stated scope.
03
Support across every stage
From spot matters in the founding stage to external legal function support, IPO readiness and post-listing corporate legal work, the legal setup can scale with the company.
Plan
Fees
Spot fixed-fee matters can be combined with monthly legal support. The scope can be defined by matter, from startup financing and stock option issuance to daily contract review.
Spot
Fixed fees per matter
Contract review, fundraising document review, share issuance procedures and tax-qualified stock option issuance can be requested by matter.
Monthly
JPY 10,000/month and up
Ongoing support through Slack and other channels for daily contract review and legal questions. Unused monthly fees can be carried forward for three months.
| Spot work examples | LegalAgent fixed fee | Typical conventional law firm range |
|---|---|---|
| NDA review / drafting | JPY 10,000 per document | JPY 20,000-50,000 plus hourly revision fees |
| Service agreement review | JPY 15,000 per document | JPY 50,000-80,000 plus hourly revision fees |
| Terms, specified commercial transaction notice and privacy policy set | JPY 70,000 per set | JPY 100,000-300,000 plus hourly revision fees |
| Fundraising document review (investment agreement, shareholders agreement, distribution agreement and articles) | JPY 150,000 | JPY 500,000-1,000,000 plus hourly revision fees |
| Documents and registration for share issuance | JPY 50,000 | JPY 100,000-200,000 |
| Tax-qualified stock option issuance: agreement drafting | JPY 100,000 | JPY 300,000-500,000 plus hourly revision fees |
| Tax-qualified stock option issuance: procedure documents and registration | JPY 50,000 | JPY 100,000-200,000 |
| Monthly plan | Monthly fee | Meeting time | Included service value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | JPY 10,000 / month | 30 min | JPY 10,000 of service value |
| Basic | JPY 50,000 / month | 60 min | JPY 60,000 of service value, including a JPY 10,000 discount |
| Standard | JPY 100,000 / month | 90 min | JPY 130,000 of service value, including a JPY 30,000 discount |
| Enterprise | JPY 300,000+ / month | 120 min | JPY 400,000 of service value, including a JPY 100,000 discount |
Fees exclude consumption tax. English matters are charged at twice the listed amount. Contracts and legal questions not listed above can also be supported. Complex matters may require an individual estimate. Monthly plans include Slack connectivity and free contract templates, and unused monthly fees can be carried forward for three months.
Track Record
Startup legal track record
Representative public matters from LegalAgent. These examples focus on company-side fundraising support and link to the same work pages as the main website.
Comparison
How this differs from common options
| Traditional retainer counsel | Hiring in-house | LegalAgentAI Native Law Firm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Response speed | Several days to a week | Immediate after hiring, but hiring may take months | Standard response within one business day |
| Cost | Often hourly and hard to predict | Salary plus recruiting cost | Fixed fees plus monthly plans from JPY 10,000 |
| Startup legal expertise | Varies by firm | First legal hire may have limited coverage | Coverage from founding to post-IPO and investor-side matters |
| Scalability | Can bottleneck during busy periods | Depends heavily on one person | Attorneys and AI agents scale with business volume |
Practical Guide
Startup legal guide
Practical articles on legal themes that commonly arise for startups. English links are included where English articles are available.
Overall legal setup
Founding stage
- Founder agreements can only be made while relations are good
- Vesting and founder equity designComing soon
- Articles and governance designComing soon
Seed fundraising and J-KISS
- J-KISS basics and legal review points
- Checklist before J-KISS fundraising
- J-KISS conversion proceduresComing soon
- Convertible notes and bridge financingComing soon
Series A and preferred stock
- Preferred stock investment terms founders should review
- Legal checklist before Series A
- What investors review in legal due diligence
- Preferred stock financing overviewComing soon
- Investment agreement review pointsComing soon
Stock options and capital policy
- Stock options as capital policy
- Avoiding stock option mistakes before Series A
- Tax-qualified stock optionsComing soon
- Exercise and leaver provisionsComing soon
Operations, contracts and compliance
Labor and organization
- Startup labor and customer harassment response
- Shortening shareholder meeting schedules
- Work rules and fixed overtime payComing soon
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can you support ordinary legal work outside fundraising?
Yes. We support contract review, terms of use, labor, IP, personal data and broader corporate legal matters. A company can begin with a fundraising matter and then combine it with monthly support for day-to-day legal work.
We are close to closing a financing round. How quickly can you respond?
Our standard commitment is to respond within one business day. For larger matters such as a Series A document set, we confirm a schedule based on the closing date at the first consultation.
Are the fees really fixed?
Matter-based work is offered at fixed prices including ordinary revisions. For unusual structures or English-language documents, we provide an individual estimate before starting and do not charge beyond the agreed scope.
Can you help prepare for an IPO?
Yes. We support rules, governance, labor checks, contract reviews and other legal readiness work for listing examination. We can also continue supporting disclosure, shareholder meetings and M&A after listing.
Does a seed-stage company with no revenue need a monthly plan?
If the immediate need is only a financing event, a spot engagement may be enough. A monthly plan usually becomes useful once contract review and legal questions arise several times per month.
How do you protect confidential information?
Attorneys are subject to statutory confidentiality obligations, and LegalAgent uses AI tools in environments where input information is not used for model training. Our information security policy provides further details.
Contact
Tell us about your legal needs
Whether you have just incorporated, just received a term sheet, or are preparing for IPO, we will review your situation and propose the legal support and estimate needed for the next stage.
- Initial consultations are available online
- Fundraising, contract review, terms, labor, IP and IPO preparation can all be discussed
- We can also coordinate roles with existing counsel or an internal legal team