Following up on standards and forms
My post on the NVCA forms and levels of adoption did get one comment, which I did not get to releasing until yesterday because it got buried under an avalanche of work related email. The gist of the comment is that adoption levels for the NVCA forms are way lower on the west coast than the east coast – Yokum Taku (of Wilson Sonsinni) suggests in the 5% to 10% range. Our firm does not track west coast deals for the obvious reason that our home base is Boston. So, I don’t have a basis for disagreement with Yokum Taku. Having said that, I believe there are huge efficiencies in using widely accepted agreed upon forms in a field in which so much is basically repetitive and in which efficient use of resources is so important. I find myself surprised that competitive pressures and the ever increasing need to provide cost efficient services has not driven west coast firms in this direction as much as it appears to be doing in New England.
Comments (1)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endMike Webber - June 28, 2009 8:49 PM
I would take Mr. Taku's comment with a grain of salt, as his firm has a long history of animosity towards the NVCA forms. WSGR was involved early on in the project to create the forms, but essentially walked away over a disagreement regarding the inclusion of founders' reps in the form of purchase agreement (as I recall, the WSGR representatives wanted them to be excluded entirely, or at most characterized as an East Coast abomination).
A good summary of WSGR's position on the NVCA forms can be found in a memo it sent to the California bar in response to a solicitation for input on creating a California-law version of the forms. A copy of the memo can be found at http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/sections/buslaw/corporations/2006_nvca-memorandom.pdf.
I have no doubt that WSGR makes very little use of the NVCA forms. However, many other West Coast firms remain actively involved in the project and, as far as I know, use the forms on a regular basis.
Mike Webber
GTC Law Group LLP & Affiliates