Startup Lawyers Sydney

Fixed-fee startup legals for Sydney founders — from incorporation to Series A close.

Sydney is Australia's largest startup ecosystem — Atlassian, Canva, Airwallex, Employment Hero. Envision Legal acts for founders at the stage before those names were household — pre-seed to Series B, across SaaS, fintech, proptech, health tech and marketplace businesses.

What we do for Sydney startups

Incorporation and structure — Pty Ltd, holding company, discretionary trust for founder equity holdings.
Founders' and shareholders' agreements — vesting, drag-along, tag-along, pre-emptive rights, exit and deadlock.
IP assignment — founder and contractor IP deeds so the company owns everything at diligence time.
SAFEs and convertible notes — Australian-style SAFEs, discount / cap / MFN, note deeds. See SAFE vs Convertible Note.
ESOPs — Employee Share Option Plans, including ESIC-compliant startup concession structures.
Priced rounds — Seed and Series A subscription agreements, updated shareholders' agreements, board mechanics.
Commercial contracts — SaaS terms, MSAs, DPAs, reseller and partner agreements. See SaaS terms of service.
Employment templates and restraints — enforceable senior-hire restraints, contractor agreements with IP assignment.
Fractional general counsel — a senior lawyer inside the business for a fixed monthly fee. Popular from Series A onwards.

Founder-friendly fixed fees

Package	Typical fixed fee	Included
Solo founder starter	$1,500–$2,500 + GST	Company, IP assignment, website terms, privacy policy
Founding team starter	$3,500–$5,500 + GST	Above + shareholders' agreement + founder vesting
Raise-ready	$5,500–$8,500 + GST	Above + SAFE / convertible note template + ESOP
Series A close	Scoped per round	Term sheet, investor docs, DD, completion

Why Sydney founders switch to us from big firms

Speed. First drafts in days, not sprint cycles.
Cost predictability. Fixed fees. No surprise WIP.
Senior attention. The lawyer you meet is the one doing the work.
Startup fluency. We speak SAFE, ESIC, ESOP, cap table, priced round — because we do them every week.

Frequently asked questions

What makes a good startup lawyer?

Fluency with cap tables, SAFEs, convertible notes and priced rounds — not just contracts. A startup lawyer should have closed dozens of these documents in the last 12 months. Ask specifically how many SAFEs and priced rounds they closed last year.

When should a Sydney startup engage a lawyer?

Before you take money from anyone — investor, co-founder, or first paying customer. Fixing structural mistakes (unallocated equity, un-assigned IP, no founder vesting) at Series A diligence is 10–20× more expensive than getting them right at day one.

Do you work with pre-revenue startups?

Yes — a large part of our practice is pre-seed and seed-stage. Fixed-fee packages start at around $1,500 + GST for a solo founder setup and $5,500 + GST for a founding-team package including shareholders' agreement, IP assignment and SAFE template.

Can you run a Series A capital raise?

Yes. We negotiate term sheets, prepare investor documents (subscription agreement, updated shareholders' agreement, disclosure letter), manage due diligence, and close alongside investor counsel — for a fraction of tier-1 firm fees.