Success story with
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"The greatest advantage was finding subject matter experts at a reasonable price, which is important for a small company."
Lyubomyr “Leo” Ostapiv
Chief Financial Officer
Founded in 2005, Stanfy is an app design and development company that specializes in software solutions for mobile, wearable devices and connected electronics (IoT).
How does Stanfy benefit by working with UpCounsel?
1. Verified Quality Legal Services Without a Huge Price Tag
Rather than spending time and money researching solo attorneys for each subject area or paying a law firm’s high hourly rates, UpCounsel handed Stanfy CFO Leo Ostapiv seasoned, vetted lawyers on a silver platter. In-depth attorney profiles plus information on past engagements and repeat customers helped Leo feel secure in the competence of his counsel.
2. A Legal Team Hand-Customized to Fit Core Legal Needs
Stanfy’s go-to law firm couldn’t assist with immigration or IP litigation and charged a high premium to handle commercial contracts. Using UpCounsel, Leo was able to create his own custom legal team by selecting the best attorneys for each of Stanfy’s unique legal needs. UpCounsel provides a cost-effective alternative to cover most of Stanfy’s legal needs.
3. Access to Experts in Four Subject Matters through a Single Platform
Leo had been managing Stanfy’s legal needs through multiple vendors. Because Stanfy’s law firm wasn’t able to offer counsel in more than one legal area, Leo would have needed to find four new law firms or solo attorneys to secure quality subject matter coverage – even on the same project. UpCounsel made it easy for Leo to find subject matter experts on legal topics ranging from immigration to patent law to contract negotiations without any recruitment expenses, and he’s able to manage all of his legal projects and invoices on one platform. Because UpCounsel attorneys are vetted, Leo can trust that his attorneys are experienced and will provide him with quality counsel.
The challenge
A Growing Business with Increasingly Complicated Legal Issues and a Startup Budget
Leo had been attempting to cover Stanfy’s legal needs as inexpensively as possible. But as Stanfy has scaled, the company has started to receive attention. The result has not only been an influx of new customers, but also more complex legal issues and regulations.
Stanfy doesn’t yet have enough legal projects to justify the expense of hiring an in-house attorney, but the company couldn’t risk using DIY technology that may produce a low quality product. Though Leo has some legal background, he isn’t able to review the quality of the DIY product on his own.
At the same time, he couldn’t turn to a big law firm to handle all of his legal needs, because the price point was too high for a small company. Leo needed to carefully balance efficacy against budget constraints. In addition, Stanfy needed to handle high-risk immigration matters.
Immigration Attorneys with a High Level of Global Expertise
Stanfy is a global business headquartered in San Francisco with a second office in Kyiv, Ukraine. This means that Stanfy is a U.S. company that employs both U.S. and Ukrainian employees. Needless to say, immigration is a core legal need for Stanfy. Stanfy needed an expert in immigration law, but Leo didn’t want to use a big law firm, in part because of the large price tag, and also because of need for a personal approach. Leo needed an experienced immigration lawyer who could handle legal matters at a reasonable price.
Assistance Across Multiple Legal Areas
Stanfy had received a trumped up IP infringement claim demanding an “outrageous” amount in damages, and Stanfy’s law firm didn’t have the subject matter coverage to handle a IP litigation. In addition to the immigration and IP litigation work, Leo also needed legal help with contracts and other IP matters like patent filings.
In the past, Leo had used a combination of small law firms, in-house project management, DIY legal solutions and solo attorneys to meet Stanfy’s legal needs. Leo wanted to quickly find quality attorneys across more than one legal area, but he didn’t want to pay the price of a big law firm with attorneys in multiple disciplines. Leo needed to find a legal services provider with a wide range of subject matter coverage at a reasonable price point.
The solution
Experienced, Cost-Effective Attorneys Capable of Handling Sensitive Legal Matters
Leo says he saved a couple thousand dollars using UpCounsel for his immigration project. He found an excellent immigration expert and went on to use UpCounsel to help him with projects in three more legal areas.
IP Infringement
Leo estimates Audrey, who handled the IP infringement claim, was three to four times more efficient than he would have been. He says Audrey took the project into her own hands: there were a couple of emails and the matter was closed. Audrey saved Leo time and also money as the case was closed.
Contract Negotiation
When Leo came to UpCounsel, he told his UpCounsel attorney, Richard, that the contract infringement negotiations might fail, requiring the company to go to court. Richard made sure that didn’t happen. Not only did he provide quality legal advice, but Leo says he became a trusted advisor beyond the legal obstacles. He helped resolve the contract matter by working like an internal person, proposing ideas, assessing alternatives and effectively guiding negotiation strategy.
Patents
Ryan’s expertise improved the patent application and brought clarity to extremely technical matters and the overall process.
Immigration
Leo began working with Lisa Eisenberg, an immigration attorney whose practice focuses on startups and small companies seeking visas and permanent residence for their founders and employees. Leo describes Lisa as experienced, knowledgeable and an excellent communicator. He felt confident that she was on top of his legal needs over the course of a yearlong process to prepare and file immigration documents.
A Middle Ground Between Cheap DIY Services and Big Law Rates
Leo turns to UpCounsel as the middle ground between legal matters that might make or break the company – handled by a traditional law firm – and standardardized, low-risk matters – where he uses DIY legal services like LegalZoom. UpCounsel covers most of Stanfy’s business law needs.
For example, Stanfy’s immigration projects required a high level of legal expertise, and he wanted the ability to discuss the issues directly with an attorney. The project ultimately continued for more than a year, and he didn’t have to pay what would have been an astronomical legal bill for that much time on an hourly Big Law rate.
A Tailored, Economical Legal Team
When Leo first started looking for an immigration lawyer, he reviewed several other legal tech companies, but selected UpCounsel because felt confident in the quality and level of experience of UpCounsel attorneys. The online user experience on the platform was good as well.
By using UpCounsel, Leo has a comprehensive solution for Stanfy’s legal needs across four subject matters. A team of UpCounsel attorneys provide cost-effective legal services for immigration, IP infringement, patent applications, and contract negotiation and drafting.
Stanfy’s team of attorneys – Audrey Kravets, Ryan J. Cann, Simon Brody and Richard Gora – as a whole have handled several legal projects, including responding to an IP infringement claim, preparing a patent application, updating a terms and conditions contract and negotiating a contract dispute.
Because Leo was able to evaluate and hire his the best attorney for each legal project, the team of attorneys is tailored to Stanfy’s specific, and oftentimes technical, legal needs. As a team, the UpCounsel attorneys provide depth and breadth of subject matter expertise comparable to that of a large firm at a fraction the cost.