One Startup Firm, Licensed in Arizona, California & Texas
Your customers are in one state, your team in another, your investors in a third. Accord & Shield is licensed across all three major Western startup markets, giving you a single firm from formation to exit.
Modern startups don’t respect state lines. A founder in Phoenix raises from a California fund, hires engineers in Austin, and signs customers in all three states. Each of those relationships is governed by a different state’s law. Accord & Shield is admitted in Arizona, California, and Texas, so a growing company gets one firm, one relationship, and consistent counsel across every state it touches. For founders operating across the West, that means a single engagement covering all three states.
Built for How Founders Actually Operate
A startup isn’t a smaller version of an established company — it’s a different animal, moving fast and making decisions today that an investor or acquirer will scrutinize years from now. The value is in your idea, your code, your equity split, and your contracts. Get those right early and everything downstream is easier; get them wrong and you pay for it during a financing or a sale, at the worst possible moment. We focus on exactly four areas where founders need real depth:
Formation & founder equity
Entity selection, founder agreements, vesting, option pools, and clean cap tables — structured for the company you intend to become, not just the one you are today. Doing it right beats untangling it during diligence.
Fundraising, SAFEs & notes
SAFEs, convertible notes, and priced rounds each carry different tradeoffs for dilution and control. We help founders choose and paper the instrument that fits their stage — without the terms that haunt the next round.
SaaS & tech contracts
MSAs, subscription agreements, DPAs, licensing, and NDAs — the liability caps, IP ownership, data rights, and assignability terms a future buyer checks line by line. Built to protect you now and survive diligence later.
M&A & the exit
Sell-side and buy-side deals, structure, earnouts tied to performance, and the reps and warranties that allocate risk. The companies that exit cleanly are the ones built diligence-ready from the start.
Raising soon, or just getting started? A short conversation early can save an expensive cleanup later. We offer a free 15-minute consultation for founders operating across AZ, CA & TX.
Book a Free 15-Minute Consultation →One Firm, Licensed in Arizona, California & Texas
Tech companies rarely stay inside one state’s borders — a Phoenix startup with a developer in Austin and customers in Los Angeles is the norm, not the exception. Our attorney is admitted in Arizona, California, and Texas, so you get one firm and one relationship across the three states where your team, customers, and investors actually are. For a growing company, that means one engagement, one point of contact, and consistent counsel in all three states.
One firm for the whole journey
Most founders end up with a different lawyer at every stage. We stay with you from the first filing to the final signature.
Form
Entity, equity & IP set up right
Raise
SAFEs, notes & priced rounds
Scale
Contracts, hiring & compliance
Exit
M&A, earnouts & clean close
Legal infrastructure for companies that are built to scale
From formation through growth, fundraising, hiring, commercial agreements, technology transactions, and acquisition, Accord & Shield helps businesses put the legal structure behind the company they are building.
What should a startup consider when buying or selling across state lines?
A transaction involving a company formed or operating in Arizona, California, or Texas may raise questions beyond the purchase price. Depending on the deal, those questions can include the agreement’s governing law, entity records and closing requirements, treatment of employees and contractors, assignment or continuation of contracts, and post-closing obligations.
Accord & Shield Legal advises buyers and sellers on transaction structure, due diligence, purchase agreements, closing, and post-closing matters within the scope of the firm’s Arizona, California, and Texas practice. If a transaction presents a question governed by another jurisdiction’s law, the engagement terms will address whether local counsel is needed.
Does forming in one state mean the company operates only there?
No. A company may be formed in one state while operating, hiring, or selling in another. The formation decision is separate from determining whether the company’s activities require registration or create legal obligations in Arizona, California, or Texas.
Accord & Shield Legal advises on entity formation and on applicable Arizona, California, and Texas requirements, including whether the company’s activities may require foreign qualification. Employment and other operating obligations depend on the company’s activities, the location of its workforce, and the law governing the particular issue. If a question turns on Delaware, Nevada, Wyoming, or another jurisdiction’s law, the firm will identify that boundary and, when appropriate, coordinate with local counsel or refer the issue.
What should a startup review when its SaaS or technology contracts cross state lines?
Technology companies commonly use customer agreements, order forms, master services agreements, statements of work, data-processing terms, professional-services or implementation agreements, reseller and partner terms, and vendor contracts. When those relationships involve Arizona, California, Texas, or another state, the review may include governing-law and forum provisions and, where applicable, state-specific privacy, subscription, employment, or contractor requirements.
Accord & Shield Legal drafts and negotiates SaaS and technology agreements within the scope of its Arizona, California, and Texas practice and identifies when an issue requires advice from counsel in another jurisdiction.
When should a growing company update its privacy policy and website terms?
A company that begins operating, hiring, or serving customers in another state should review whether its privacy policy, terms of use, disclaimers, and related procedures still match the business’s actual practices and applicable law. Depending on the company, the data it handles, the people it serves, and the laws that apply, expansion may require changes to privacy disclosures, subscription terms, or procedures for responding to consumer requests.
Accord & Shield Legal reviews and drafts privacy policies, terms of use, and disclaimers for businesses operating in Arizona, California, and Texas, and identifies when another jurisdiction’s law requires local counsel.
Boutique focus, not a generalist
The reasons growing companies pick a dedicated business attorney over a do-everything firm.
We focus on business law
Not personal injury, not family law — business law, done deeply. The high-value work gets a dedicated attorney, not a generalist’s afternoon.
Diligence-ready from day one
We set you up so a future buyer’s lawyers find clean paper, not surprises. Better terms, faster closes when the offer comes.
Counsel invested in your growth
Transparent pricing, efficient scoping, and a long-term relationship — legal counsel that knows your business, works like part of your team, and is in your corner from formation to exit.
Three states, one relationship
Licensed in AZ, CA & TX — where your customers, team, and investors actually are. One firm instead of three.
“A sophisticated attorney whose work product speaks for itself… you need a flexible, deep-thinking lawyer who uses every resource to get you to the best set of protective documents from both the legal and tax perspective. Nadine is such a sophisticated attorney.”— Tom M., Google Review
Testimonials reflect the personal experiences and opinions of individual clients. They do not guarantee, predict, or warrant a similar outcome in any other matter. Each legal matter depends on its specific facts, circumstances, and applicable law. No attorney-client relationship is formed by viewing this website or contacting the firm unless and until a written engagement agreement is signed.
Startup & M&A Counsel Across the West
One firm, licensed in Arizona, California & Texas — serving founders in every major market across all three states.
From formation to exit. One firm.
Founder-first counsel across the whole journey — formation, financing, contracts, trademarks & copyrights, and the exit — in Arizona, California & Texas.
Related Services & Nearby Locations
Multi-State Startup Legal FAQs
Why does it matter that my lawyer is licensed in multiple states?
Because your legal obligations change with each state your company operates in. Employment law, non-compete enforceability, contract rules, and privacy requirements all differ across Arizona, California, and Texas. A lawyer licensed in only one can’t advise on the others — so multi-state founders often juggle separate firms. One firm admitted in all three keeps your counsel consistent and your paperwork coherent as you grow.
What does business formation cost?
It depends on the scope. The right structure depends on your goals (raising money, bringing on co-founders, planning an eventual sale), so we confirm what your matter involves in a free 15-minute consultation and are transparent about fees before you engage us.
Can you help if my team or customers are in California or Texas, not just Arizona?
Yes — that’s a core reason founders choose us. Our attorney is licensed in Arizona, California, and Texas, so a Scottsdale company with a developer in Austin and customers in Los Angeles can work with one firm instead of stitching together separate lawyers in each state. Multi-state operations are the norm for tech companies, and we’re built for it.
What’s the difference between a SAFE, a convertible note, and a priced round?
They’re three ways to raise early money. A SAFE and a convertible note both let investors put in money now and convert to equity later (a note is debt with interest and a maturity date; a SAFE is simpler and not debt). A priced round sells equity at an agreed valuation now. Each has tradeoffs for control, dilution, and complexity — we help founders pick and paper the one that fits their stage without creating problems for the next round.
When should a startup start thinking about an exit?
Sooner than most founders expect — not because you’re selling now, but because the habits that make a company easy to sell (clean cap table, clear IP ownership, organized contracts, documented decisions) are easiest to build from day one. Companies that operate diligence-ready from the start command better terms and close faster when an offer eventually comes. We help you build that way without slowing you down.
Not a startup? See our multi-state business attorney page for established companies operating across Arizona, California, and Texas.
Operating Across State Lines?
Whether you’re forming your company, raising your first round, or planning an exit, we’ll help you build on a foundation that holds. Founder-first counsel for startups across Arizona, California & Texas.