Startup Lawyer Chats: Matteo Daste (Mayer Brown)

In this post, Matteo Datse, a lawyer in the Emerging Companies & Venture Capital group at Mayer Brown LLP, offers insights from his experience working with startups and venture funds. His journey from Italy to the heart of Silicon Valley demonstrates the blend of legal acumen and entrepreneurial spirit required to navigate this exciting practice.

Matteo’s Role and Advice on Working with Startups

“I represent the startups anywhere from formation to fundraising to M&A,” Matteo shares. His work emphasizes not just acting as a legal advisor but the strategic business decisions that shape a startup's path. “Startups... are very cash sensitive... so you’ve got to be very practical when working with them,” he notes, stressing the importance of efficiency and directness in communication. Matteo was careful to point out that an important part of being an effective lawyer involves identifying what kind of response the client actually needs. Sometimes the client will need a “yes” or a “no,” but sometimes, they will need complex explanations and advising. This is especially true, as Matteo notes, when working with startup companies. An effective lawyer creates value for their clients and is able to determine which response their client needs for any given scenario.

Technology’s Role in Legal Practice

Matteo’s interest in technology reflects his forward-looking approach to law, something he says is very important for any lawyer working with entrepreneurs. “I follow a lot of legal tech... it's very, very important to just not so much just for the clients themselves...but mostly also for the profession,” he says. Matteo believes it is very important for lawyers to leverage technology not just for efficiency, but as a fundamental aspect of providing legal services in today's digital age. Many startups use new or complex technology, and being familiar with the technology is an important aspect of being able to truly understand your client’s business and offer quality legal advice.

“Every Lawyer is, in Some Form or Fashion, an Entrepreneur”

“As a lawyer, you have to be an entrepreneur.” This statement encapsulates the dual nature of modern legal practice, where lawyers must navigate client acquisition, business management, and service innovation. Matteo anticipates a future where more legal services leverage technology to meet the needs of startups, suggesting a shift from traditional billing models to models that reflect the value and efficiency technology brings. “I expect that in the next few years, we'll see a lot of tech providers coming in and sort of addressing all this sort of practice management and workflows issues that today law firms are unable to address because at the end of the day, law firms are not really that tech savvy.”

“I think an entrepreneur is someone who executes on an idea. That's really what it is, because there are a lot of people who have ideas. But, in order to really be an entrepreneur, you need to execute on it… and it doesn't have to be like the best idea in the world or something completely innovative. But if you just execute on it, then there's a pretty good chance that you're going to create value around that idea.”

For law students drawn to the startup world, Matteo offers this advice: “Take all the classes you can in law school, use your time in the summer to do a meaningful internship.” He emphasizes the importance of practical experience and specialized knowledge, reflecting on his own path that led him from sports in college through the dot com boom, to his current role. “It could even be in a start-up or in a tech company, or just doing something that lets you learn more about the industry and then try to get a job in the field and not necessarily in the bigger best law firm, but in a firm that does this kind of work so that you can test it first-hand.”

In defining entrepreneurship as the execution of ideas, Matteo emphasizes the value of action over ideation. As the legal industry continues to evolve alongside technological advancements, embracing the entrepreneurial spirit, leveraging technology, and focusing on practical and impactful legal advice will be key to success in the world of startup law. Matteo’s reflections offer not just a look into the present state of startup legal practice but a vision for its future, where law and entrepreneurship continue to intersect and thrive.