Our Approach
Sophisticated legal services to protect your business.
West Hill is a boutique business law firm for companies that create or leverage technology. We provide our expertise to established public and private companies as well as start-ups and social enterprises throughout the Greater Boston Area and around the country.
Our attorneys have expertise developed by working for large law firms or as in-house counsel, including as chief legal officer. We use our experience to deliver sophisticated legal counsel without the overhead of traditional law firms. Solid legal advisors that work hard, solve real business problems and are pleasant to work with.
Whether you are a startup, established business or an in-house legal team, West Hill works with Clients in all stages of company growth.
Start-ups
As a new business owner, or serial entrepreneur starting a new company, there are many competing priorities. West Hill helps you allocate scarce resources to those legal tasks that will have the biggest impact. We have found that these “legal priority lists” vary as much as our clients. For some, the most important step is to define and document relationships between founders. Other important early steps include:
- protecting IP
- hiring your first employees and independent contractors
- negotiating initial vendor and customer agreements
- raising capital
Let us help you grow your IP-focused business while minimizing risk and maximizing the potential for a successful exit.
Established Businesses
West Hill attorneys are dedicated to the success of our clients and provide pro-active, practical advice helping to avoid legal issues before they arise. This includes:
- drafting easy-to-understand agreements that protect key business interests
- protecting your hard work and your company’s value by creating an industry-specific strategy for IP protection that fits your budget
- building your company’s value through choosing the right corporate structure
- helping you determine the best option for financing the growth of your business
- providing you with cost-effective tools to help hire and retain staff and protect business assets
- navigating the process of selling your company from due diligence through closing so that you can achieve the goals you set for pursuing your next opportunity
In-House Legal Departments
West Hill has a solution for in–house legal departments that lack subject-matter expertise in software licensing, copyright protection and enforcement, and privacy. For many established companies, IP = patent. Negotiating software licenses and understanding complex SaaS agreements is outside of their field of expertise. We assist legal departments in addressing these issues in many ways including:
- training for legal department or technology teams on IP-related issues, including use of open source software, copyright attribution, and data rights assertions in government contracts and subcontracts
- supporting marketing teams with strategic branding support, including trademark strategy, prosecution, and enforcement
- negotiating complex research and development and licensing transactions with customers
- providing overflow coverage for parental leave and sabbaticals
- outsourced in-bound license and cloud computing negotiation for your IT department
Not all law firms understand your unique challenges as an in-house legal department. As former in-house lawyers, we do. Our business-savvy, efficient, cost effective approach can help make your legal department successful.
Next, a bit about what we don’t do . . .
If you are looking for a law firm that will take you to the ball game, get you an incredible tee time, or wine and dine you at the hottest new restaurant, you are in the wrong place. We are lawyers, not cruise directors. We put your legal services budget to work with reasonable fees for the highest quality services, not box seats and country club memberships. We like it that way; we think you will too.
