TruQC could still be considered a startup, though they’ve been in business since 2011. TruQC has needed help in a range of legal areas: contract law, human resources, patents, trademarks and more. In their early years, they worked with a number of law firms, trying to find the right fit.
First, came the big law firms. “Larger firms move small companies like us around often", says CEO Ross Boyd. “We were assigned to multiple attorneys and saw significant turnover. We had so many situations where we were doing contract work and got handed to a junior associate. Then, the junior associate leaves. Six months later we needed a contract that was similar to the one we already did, but when you say this to the new junior associate, ‘Do you remember the contract we did previously?’ they don’t remember at all, because they weren’t involved with it. By the time we got a new attorney up to speed, they had to re-read all the documentation and it became a lot of rework while the meter’s running.”
Frustrated with their big-firm experience, TruQC tried boutique firms. While they received more personalized attention, they also found themselves doing more work. “If you move from a larger firm to a boutique, you must source and find the right attorney for your specific need. Because things happen so fast with a startup, this became a job in itself,” comments Ross. "Today we may need a new NDA in place, tomorrow we may need somebody that's savvy on technical review of copyright law. Each time we are in that situation, we have to find a firm that specializes in that particular area, find the right attorney, tell them our story, and get them ramped up, just so they can do the work for us. At least with the big firm I could just call up and say, ‘Can you give me your person over in copyright?’”
Of course, the convenience of a bigger firm came with a price tag — sometimes two to three times as much as a boutique firm.
When Ross found Stock Legal, he found the personal attention and relationship he craved, without the extra work of finding the subject-matter expertise he needed. “With Stock Legal, it is a one-stop shop. I'll make one call, and there is a person on staff to help me with skills in that particular market. They handle all sourcing for me.”
“Because Stock Legal understands our work, we don’t need to provide context with each of our legal contracts. Sara and the team have a solid understanding of what we're trying to accomplish as a company.”
The efficiency borne of familiarity doesn’t just save TruQC on hourly billing. It also helps them turn deals around quickly. “We’re still a small company. We don't have the luxury of letting deals die. If there's a large contract on the table or a deal that we can execute, the legal firm cannot be a barrier. With Stock Legal, we saw a quick turnaround.
What enables this speed? What gives Boyd confidence in the trust he’s put in Stock Legal? He says, “It’s simple, they listen. They know my company and can translate our goals into practical legal terms, so the onus is not on me as the CEO to continually read and revise legal documents.”
After years of frustration with firms that were too big or too small, TruQC is happy they found a home with Stock Legal, where the fit has been just right.
“Sara understands the challenges that I'm facing as CEO of a startup,” Boyd says. “She understands the legal issues and hurdles that I'm going to encounter and acts as an advisor as we go through the process.”
When asked what he might say to another startup or emerging company looking for a law firm to meet their needs, Boyd tells a story of the first time TruQC worked with Stock Legal.
“We gave Sara a fairly large deal right out of the gate and she demonstrated great attention to detail,” he says. “Her professionalism made our company want to use Stock Legal again for future business.”
As a result, he says,
“Now, I know I can count on Sara as a trusted advisor. I know that she cares about my business and wants TruQC to move forward and grow as a company. She has earned our trust... and you can't put a price on that.”
Ross Boyd is the CEO of TruQC, a start-up whose job site documentation software provides project management and quality control solutions for a range of industries. Learn more at truqcapp.com.
