Pierce Atwood has more than a century of experience and proven success in helping our client companies to grow into profitable enterprises. We apply that deep experience in counseling business clients on corporate, tax, and commercial transactions with our excellent intellectual property and venture capital financing expertise to help growth companies compete in today's challenging marketplace.

Through our Catalyst Program, we provide today's growth companies with the skilled legal services they need to become the successful companies of tomorrow. We also offer innovative and flexible fee arrangements designed to address the entrepreneur's realistic cash flow challenges.

Our Catalyst Team has experience assisting start-ups and emerging businesses in the following key areas:

  • Corporate Governance
  • Employee Benefits
  • Intellectual Property
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Litigation (including patent litigation)
  • Securities
  • Venture Capital

“StartWire and Pierce Atwood have a history of doing great work together. I think of their attorneys as key business partners rather than just outside counsel. Since our inception, they have provided timely, practical, efficient advice.” – Chris Forman, CEO and Founder, StartWire

"My experience with Pierce Atwood attorneys has been nothing less than top-notch - they are highly professional, responsive, and have taken the time to understand the needs of my small craft brewery. Pierce Atwood attorneys handle my company's legal matters as efficiently as possible and have delivered first-class results." – Dan Kleban, Owner, Maine Beer Co., LLC

We provide new clients with our Startup Engine, a suite of services to get your new business off the ground:

  • Advice on choice of entity
  • Formation of business entity and required foreign qualifications
  • Documentation of initial capitalization
  • Provision of standard employee agreement forms:
  • Assignment of inventions and non-disclosure
  • Non-competition and non-solicitation
  • A stockholders agreement or operating agreement
  • Development of equity incentive plans and related equity award forms
  • Initial intellectual property and branding consultation

When it comes to fees, we work with our clients to develop uncomplicated alternative fee arrangements. Our Catalyst clients have utilized deferred or contingent fees, equity options, and discounted rates. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. We’ll find a fee arrangement that works for you.

For more information on Pierce Atwood's Catalyst Program for start-ups and emerging businesses, please contact any of our Catalyst attorneys:

Maine
Jonathan Gelchinsky
207.791.1203 or jgelchinsky@pierceatwood.com

Andrea Suter
207.791.1157 or asuter@pierceatwood.com

Massachusetts
Tim Fisher
617.488.8179 or tfisher@pierceatwood.com

Sarah McGarrell
617.488.8139 or smcgarrell@pierceatwood.com

New Hampshire
Scott Pueschel
603.373.2019 or spueschel@pierceatwood.com

James Baker
603.373.2006 or jbaker@pierceatwood.com