Planning for 2025: Why to Include Legal

Now that we’re deep into Q4 and 2025 planning, it’s time to discuss why to include Legal in your product and company roadmap discussions. In Q4, I offer my clients a complimentary 2025 planning session where we discuss relevant legal and business issues to consider in planning for next year, and when to engage me for certain aspects. Today, I share why it’s great to include Legal in these discussions and how your company can benefit, as well as common topics Legal can assist with. 

Why to Include Legal

Legal usually isn’t the first stakeholder to reach out to in planning sessions, whether in-house or outside counsel, for many reasons. First, there’s the perception that in-house Legal will say no to whatever initiatives any department comes up with. Often, that’s the case, but it really shouldn’t be, and a lot of that relates to company culture. Ideally, Legal will identify risks in each aspect of product, marketing, sales, etc., and work with each group to execute on their KPIs while looking out for the business – they shouldn’t just be saying no! 

Second, outside counsel is often not included because they’re not part of the company and bill for every minute they’re on the phone with you. Hence, companies decide to email them only when they have an issue, but again, that's not ideal. Outside counsel that is attuned to tech companies’ growth stages and business risks are an asset and should be included. Ideally, they also have in-house experience and communicate well. They’ll know how to work with stakeholders across the org, identify priorities and risks, and help them understand and plan for any changes in governance, contracts, legal operations, and other aspects of compliance. Counsel with in-house experience can also provide operational guidance when it comes to sales, marketing, HR, and more. Again, it’s about building trust so that open communications are possible.

It’s Legal’s job to enable each group to build and execute while providing reasoned guidance along the way. And, that’s only possible if there’s a culture and relationship where everyone can have frank and straightforward conversations of their wants, and meet in the middle so that everyone benefits. Great counsel can, and should, be allies to stakeholders company-wide.

Topics to Discuss with Legal

Here’s a sample of topics I typically cover with my clients, to get you thinking of when to engage with your counsel. If your counsel isn’t an expert in any of these areas, they should be able to identify which experts can help you and make any needed referrals.  

• Fundraising. Are you planning to fundraise in the next year? What should you get updated or put in place so that you’re presenting your best to investors? 
• Hiring. How much do you plan to hire next year, and in which roles? Will you do layoffs? How to best handle termination?
• Product. What’s the general roadmap for next year? Any new features or initiatives? Product counsel can flag any general issues that will come up and suggest when to engage them to ease the roll-out and compliance process. Any commercial releases usually require updating your contracts too, so that they accurately describe the current company offering.
• Customers. Are your company’s target customers evolving, such as by market cap or demographic? If so, your contracts and sales collateral may need updating, as well as any current negotiation practices, to provide additional coverage for your company.
• Marketing and Ads. Are you planning a new ad or marketing campaign? Using any famous names, brands or images? Setting up discounts or sweepstakes? Product counsel can guide you through the process of compliant disclosure and messaging to your customers.
• Partnerships. Are you building out or expanding your partnerships? Seeking additional revenue streams aside from direct sales? You should discuss all the options you’re considering to understand what contract templates need to be drafted (and when) and operationally what your teams need for implementation.

Common wisdom is it’s better to engage with Legal earlier rather than later, to head off minor questions and problems before they become bigger (and more expensive) issues. However, companies with finite resources need to strike a balance – some issues can and should be addressed later, when the company is better resourced and positioned to address them properly. Others are too risky to ignore. Great counsel can help you navigate this process and provide guidance on growing your company while being smart with time and resources.