Legal costs are why most small businesses operate on unsigned agreements, unregistered intellectual property and shareholder arrangements that exist only as an understanding. A law firm offering selected businesses a substantial value of tailored legal work, plus training and introductions, is addressing the one professional service owners consistently defer until something goes wrong.
Programmes of this kind select through an application assessed by a panel, and give preference to ventures that already have market traction.
The legal work most businesses need is preventative
Shareholder agreements, employment contracts, customer terms, supplier agreements and intellectual property registration. None of these feel urgent and all of them are considerably cheaper to put in place than to argue about afterwards. That is exactly the work an incubation programme of this kind provides.
Traction is the selection criterion, so lead with it
Where preference goes to ventures with some market traction, the application should open with customers, revenue and growth rather than with the idea. A panel assessing many applications is looking for evidence the legal work will be applied to a real business.
Getting legal affairs in order is fundraising preparation
Investors conduct due diligence on exactly these documents. A business whose shareholding is properly recorded, whose intellectual property is assigned to the company rather than sitting with a founder or a contractor, and whose contracts exist in writing, raises faster and at better terms. Businesses that have not done this discover it during a raise, at the worst moment.
Training matters more than the documents
Documents drafted for you solve today’s problem. Understanding which agreements matter, what a term sheet clause does and when to involve a lawyer changes every decision afterwards. Weight the training component of any such programme heavily.
Some of this you can do yourself
Company registration, shareholder records, trade mark and design registration are handled by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission and are accessible without a law firm. Doing the straightforward parts yourself leaves professional support for the agreements that genuinely need drafting.
Frequently asked questions
What legal work do small businesses most often skip?
Shareholder agreements, employment contracts, customer and supplier terms, and intellectual property registration, none of which feel urgent.
Why does traction matter in the application?
Because panels give preference to ventures where the legal work will be applied to a real business, so customers and revenue should lead the application.
How does legal housekeeping affect fundraising?
Investors examine exactly these documents in due diligence, and businesses with them in order raise faster and on better terms.
Which is worth more, the documents or the training?
The training. Documents solve today’s problem while understanding which agreements matter changes every decision afterwards.
What can you do without a lawyer?
Company registration, shareholder records and trade mark or design registration, which leaves professional time for agreements that genuinely need drafting.
Further reading
Originally published in December 2017. Updated September 2026 to explain what legal support programmes offer and what to prepare, in place of a closed call for applications.
