outside gc for saas companies
IDEAL FOR PRE-IPO / SERIES B AND C COMPANIES, OR THOSE THAT ARE READY NOW TO USE OUR SERVICES TO GET AN EDGE AND UNLOCK A CHANNEL FOR GROWTH
SaaS companies are focused on developing a strong market position, substantial revenue, and a clear plan for significant expansion. Because information privacy concerns are not revenue-generating projects, fast-growing SaaS companies will tend to ignore them or do the minimal amount of work necessary… until one day they grow up and realize that they are subject to heightened regulations, which previously did not apply. This can be because of the SaaS company’s revenue amounts (California’s CCPA applies to a company with $25 million annual revenue, regardless of whether that company is based in California) or because of their customer size (e.g., processing the data of over 100,000 consumers in a given state). Once SaaS companies close their Series C funding round, they begin thinking more about data privacy, and this is when they will typically make their first full-time, in-house legal hire, if they have not already done so. Unfortunately, that Senior Legal Counsel or GC has a lot on her plate. Often with a corporate background, she may not have familiarity with the information privacy laws, and, even though she is a brilliant attorney, she likely does not have the time to get up to speed (nor is it easy to do so, as these laws are a patchwork of state and federal laws, with frequent amendments).
In addition, the product and engineering teams at SaaS companies often consist of technically sophisticated employees. They are pragmatic, and if a new technology can make them more efficient, they won’t hesitate to incorporate it. But this is tricky, because today’s new technologies are increasingly AI-powered, and these AI vendor agreements need to be carefully reviewed (or you may be leaking your data). Some require licenses to user-provided inputs (so that they can further develop and train their models), which clearly implicates the SaaS company’s proprietary and confidential information. Others are trained on proprietary (infringing) data, which can in turn damage the SaaS company’s ability to secure the IP of the code that is generated.
Our outside general counsel program is ready to help.
how we can support you
AI Governance
We don't just understand data privacy and AI governance – it's our focus. We can create an AI contracting playbook (tailored to your company’s use cases) so that your team knows what to look out for when engaging AI vendors (particularly if the AI model will get access to our confidential or proprietary information, including code). We can also work with your product teams to advise on how to launch a new feature using AI, in a way that keeps you in compliance with current laws, but also gives you an edge on the competition. Your GC (if you have one) does not have to do this alone; we will get her up to speed.
Data Privacy
Many SaaS companies assume that data privacy laws do not apply to them, because they are B2B and do not sell directly to consumers. (That is not necessarily true because a lot of service software sold to businesses is then used to process the information of consumers.) Regardless of your customer profile, if you use SMS marketing, you are also subject to federal privacy laws, and there are rules around e-mail marketing too. Moreover, once you hit $25 million AR, you are automatically subject to California’s privacy laws, and you will want to make sure your website (and any tracking technologies or use of pixels) is in compliance. We conduct privacy impact assessments and craft data privacy policies and procedures, as well as advise on your current privacy program (data retention and deletion), to help you ensure you are not overlooking any unnecessary risks.
Copyright & Trademark
Your marketing team may be pushing to leverage vendors that offer great and cheap content. But do they use gen AI to do it? We bring our passion about intellectual property to help you secure yours. We provide strategic counsel on copyright and trademark ownership, licensing, and infringement issues.
Commercial Contracts
Have an overflow of contract review and need some red-lining and negotiation backup? Yelena was a complex commercial litigator before working as a General Counsel. She’s seen how certain provisions actually play out, in the event of a dispute, coupled with the business experience of understanding what to press on. Let’s make your agreements a tool not a liability.