Portal-First
Your engagement, matters, documents, and messages in one private dashboard. No lost email threads.
Work With Mateo
Three common engagement paths — all with the same flat-fee structure, the same private portal, and the same promise to scope every matter before you sign anything.
01
Outside General Counsel
The core of Mateo’s practice. Most founders arrive recently funded, a little exposed on the IP and customer-contract sides, and unsure if they’re asking the right questions. Mateo’s job is to make sure they are.
- One-page legal posture audit — entity, IP, employment, contracts
- Standardized PIIA forms (founder · employee · contractor · NDA)
- Customer MSA template — tested, reusable, founder-friendly
- Quarterly board legal updates & cap table coordination
- Matter shepherding — every deadline tracked in your portal
Outside General Counsel
02
Series B Diligence Prep
Investors will ask for everything. Mateo pre-builds the diligence binder three quarters before you raise, so investor counsel finds nothing that scares them — and you don’t lose 60 days of fundraise to legal cleanup.
- Cap table reconciliation & 409A coordination
- IP chain-of-title build — founder PIIA, contractor releases, assignments
- Customer contract index with key-term flagging
- Employment census, classification audit, equity grant log
Diligence Pre-Build
03
Founder Strategy Sessions
Not ready to engage? Mateo runs 60-minute strategy sessions for founders who are still 6–18 months out from needing fractional outside GC. You leave with a plan, not a sales pitch.
- Honest cap table sanity-check against your funding plan
- IP posture review — what’s yours, what isn’t, what’s missing
- Employment classification audit — CA / NY / WA exposure
- A Calderón Counsel portal seat so you can lurk when ready
Strategy Session
The Big-Law Bench Advantage in Every Engagement
Engagement letters are just legal contracts with consequences for both sides. Mateo writes them like negotiated deals — line by line, scoping what is and is not in scope, and translating every clause into the plain English you asked for.
Document Review
Every term sheet, MSA, indemnity carve-out, and Office Action read and summarized before you sign.
Numbers You Trust
Total-cost-of-counsel modeling — flat retainer, pass-through filings, capped overage, opportunity cost.
Same Lawyer, Always
You work with Mateo personally on every matter, every call, every signature. No partner-track handoffs.
How We Work Together
1
Discovery Call
30 minutes. Your fundraise plan, active matters, and the real questions behind the engagement.
2
Portal Setup
Your private dashboard is live. Engagement, matters, documents, and next steps in one place.
3
Audit & Strategy
One-page legal posture audit, then a 5-page matter strategy adopted by both founders.
4
Close with Clarity
Filings, signatures, board updates. Every deadline tracked. You move forward confident.
Which Path Fits You?
Start with a conversation — we’ll figure out the right next step together.
Book Your Consultation