Goodwin Procter Launches Founder's Workbench

BOSTON, Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodwin Procter LLP, a national Am Law 50 law firm, today launched Founder's Workbench, a free, online resource that helps entrepreneurs navigate many of the legal and organizational challenges commonly faced by start-ups and emerging companies.  The site, which includes self-service tools for generating basic company legal documents, removes cost and access barriers that can handicap early stage ventures and bootstrap operations, and provides advice and best practices on a wide variety of topics related to capital-efficient company formation.  

"Founder's Workbench rocks," said Claude Arnell Milhouse, co-founder/CEO at Spreehive.  "It is the Holy Grail of business start-up resources.  We used Founder's Workbench to form our start-up, Spreehive, and found the depth, breadth, usefulness and completeness of the resources to be mind-blowing.  The amount of time and legal fees that it saved us is considerable."

Founder's Workbench provides a rich set of online resources including:

• Expert Insights. Goodwin Procter has stocked the site with best practices content designed to educate entrepreneurs on a range of topics such as how to organize a company, equity compensation, IP protection and trademarks, raising seed capital and hiring employees and consultants. Examples include "Common Intellectual Property Issues" and "Top 10 Questions to Consider Before Signing a Lease." New content and topics will be added on a regular basis.

• Document Driver, a self-service document generator, with no registration requirement, that helps start-ups to create a tailored set of legal documents necessary for incorporation.  It also enables creation of other standard documents defining the rights and obligations of a company and its founders.  To guide entrepreneurs, the site outlines key regulatory and administrative issues that need to be addressed by start-ups and includes a step-by-step instructional checklist on forming a corporation in Delaware.

• Founder's Toolbox, a blog that adds to the conversation in the entrepreneurial community with a forum for analysis of legal and industry topics relevant to start-ups.  Founder's Toolbox helps entrepreneurs understand and address the challenges facing their companies, as well as identify market trends that may affect potential financing.  Blog posts will be authored by attorneys in the firm's technology, intellectual property, employment and tax groups, and will also feature guest experts, such as venture capitalists, and weekly links to top articles of interest from leading bloggers in the start-up and VC communities.

"Making the choice to become an entrepreneur is enough of a challenge; finding legal advice when you're just starting out, should not be," said Kelly Hoey, strategic advisor to 85 Broads, a global network of women business leaders.  "For entrepreneurs, Goodwin Procter's Founder's Workbench clears through the cost and confusion of starting a business, and enables entrepreneurs to focus on what matters most – running their businesses, profitably."

"We are committed to providing fresh, actionable content to help start-ups from company formation through financing, and expansion to liquidity," said John J. Egan, III, partner and co-chair of the firm's Technology Companies Group.  

"We have brought together the best expertise across Goodwin Procter – from Boston to Silicon Valley – to make Founder's Workbench an indispensable resource for entrepreneurs seeking legal and industry intelligence," added Anthony J. McCusker, partner and co-chair of the firm's Technology Companies Group.

Access Founder's Workbench at http://www.goodwinfoundersworkbench.com.  To follow Founder's Workbench on Twitter, go to: http://twitter.com/founderstoolbox.

About Goodwin Procter

Goodwin Procter LLP is one of the nation's leading law firms with offices in Boston, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C.  The firm's core areas of practice are corporate, litigation and real estate, with specialized areas of focus that include financial services, private equity, technology, REITs and real estate capital markets, intellectual property, products liability and mass torts.  Information may be found at www.goodwinprocter.com.

SOURCE Goodwin Procter LLP