Think Legal,P.C.
Pricing

The number you saw is the number you pay.

Flat-fee + costs for every transactional engagement. Three Outside General Counsel tiers priced against the alternative of hiring in-house. State filing fees always quoted separately.

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Two pricing models

We bill two ways, and each way is honest about its scope.

  1. Transactional

    Flat-fee + costs.

    Knowable scope, knowable price. State filing fees passed through transparently. Direct checkout for simple matters; discovery call for everything else.

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  2. Outside General Counsel

    Monthly retainer.

    Foundation, Partner, or Embedded — sized to the legal load and priced against the alternative of hiring in-house counsel.

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Transactional · Flat-fee + costs

California business formation, contracts, and recurring compliance.

Three formation tiers anchor the practice. Standalone documents and a light recurring compliance package fill the gaps.

Formation packages

F1 · Business formation

Single-Member LLC Formation

Solo California business owner forming an LLC for the first time.

$995+ California state fees ($90)

Flat-fee + costs · Direct checkout

What’s included

  • Articles of Organization (LLC-1) filed
  • Initial Statement of Information (LLC-12) filed
  • EIN procurement from the IRS
  • California-specific single-member operating agreement (member-managed)
  • 30-minute attorney consultation
  • Banking and tax-timing guidance for the formation year
  • BOI reporting guidance (Corporate Transparency Act)
  • Plain-language post-formation summary memo

What’s not included

  • California state filing fees ($70 Articles + $20 SOI = $90)
  • $800 California FTB franchise tax (paid annually to FTB)
  • Multi-member operating agreement (requires F2 or F3)
  • Buy-sell agreement (B2 or F3)
  • Custom contracts, employment documents, IP assignments
  • Trademark search or filing
  • Ongoing tax advice (refer to CPA)
  • Registered agent service
Most popular

F2 · Business formation

Multi-Member LLC Formation

Two or more California members forming an LLC together — co-founders, partners, family ventures.

$1,995+ California state fees ($90)

Flat-fee + costs · Discovery call

What’s included

  • Everything in F1
  • Custom multi-member operating agreement: capital contributions, profit/loss allocation, voting structure, transfer restrictions, dispute resolution
  • Manager-managed structure if requested (no upcharge)
  • 60-minute attorney consultation including founder-alignment review
  • One round of revisions on the operating agreement
  • Cal RPC 1.7 conflict-of-interest screening before drafting

What’s not included

  • Buy-sell provisions with valuation methodology (F3 or B2 covers)
  • Vesting schedules
  • Custom IP assignment agreements (F3 covers)
  • Capital call structures beyond standard
  • Securities law analysis (refer out)

F3 · Business formation

Premium Multi-Member Foundation

Multi-member LLCs with capital at stake, mixed sweat-equity / cash, or unrelated co-founders.

$3,495+ California state fees ($90)

Flat-fee + costs · Discovery call

What’s included

  • Everything in F2
  • Standard Buy-Sell Agreement covering the Five Ds: death, disability, divorce, departure, deadlock
  • Custom valuation methodology
  • Up to 90 minutes of attorney consultation
  • IP assignment agreement (founder IP into the LLC)
  • Two rounds of revisions
  • One initial contract template (CSA, NDA, or Independent Contractor Agreement)
  • 30-day post-formation Q&A window

What’s not included

  • Tax advice, securities work, litigation
  • More than one custom contract template (additional at S3 pricing)
  • Ongoing fractional GC services (separate engagement)
  • CPA-led valuation services
  • Real estate transactional work

Buy-sell & governance

Most popular

B2 · Buy-sell & governance

Standard Buy-Sell Agreement

The Business Prenup most multi-member LLCs don't have. Default offering on the buy-sell page.

$2,495

Flat-fee + costs · Discovery call

What’s included

  • Custom buy-sell agreement covering the Five Ds: death, disability, divorce, departure, deadlock
  • Tailored valuation methodology (fixed-price, formula, or appraisal-based)
  • Right-of-first-refusal provisions
  • Deadlock resolution mechanism
  • Spousal consent provisions (community property protection)
  • Review of existing operating agreement (issue spotting only)
  • One hour of attorney consultation
  • One round of revisions

What’s not included

  • Operating agreement amendments (B3 covers)
  • CPA-led business valuation services
  • Insurance product recommendations
  • Tax structuring of buyout terms (CPA coordination only)
  • Litigation or active dispute resolution

B3 · Buy-sell & governance

Governance Restatement

Full operating agreement amendment + restatement integrating buy-sell. For LLCs whose existing OA is template-grade and needs replacement.

$4,495

Flat-fee + costs · Discovery call

What’s included

  • Everything in B2
  • Full restatement of the operating agreement
  • Tax-aware structuring of buyout mechanics in coordination with client's CPA
  • Insurance funding coordination (key-person, cross-purchase, redemption)
  • Two rounds of revisions
  • Two hours of attorney consultation

What’s not included

  • CPA-led business valuation
  • Insurance brokerage
  • Tax filings
  • Litigation

Standalone documents

S1 · Standalone documents

Standalone Operating Agreement

Existing LLC with no operating agreement — or replacing a template-service version.

$1,495

Flat-fee + costs · Hybrid

What’s included

  • California-specific operating agreement (single- or multi-member)
  • 30-minute attorney consultation
  • One round of revisions

What’s not included

  • Buy-sell provisions (B-tier covers)
  • Tax structuring
  • Securities work

S2 · Standalone documents

Operating Agreement Review

Existing LLC with an operating agreement that needs an issue-spotting review.

$495

Flat-fee + costs · Direct checkout

What’s included

  • 60-minute review of the existing operating agreement
  • Written memo identifying gaps and risks
  • Recommendation memo (rewrite, amend, or leave as-is)

What’s not included

  • Drafting or amendments (S1, B2, B3 cover)
  • Tax advice

S3 · Standalone documents

Single Custom Contract

One California-specific custom contract — Client Service Agreement, NDA, or Independent Contractor Agreement.

$1,495

Flat-fee + costs · Discovery call

What’s included

  • One California-specific custom contract
  • 30-minute attorney consultation
  • One round of revisions

What’s not included

  • Multiple contract templates (additional ones at S3 pricing each)
  • Negotiation of an active counterparty deal (separate scope)
  • Tax advice

Recurring compliance

R1 · Recurring

Annual Compliance Package

Lightweight annual compliance: SOI reminders, BOI checks, FTB calendar.

$395/year

Flat-fee + costs · Direct checkout

What’s included

  • Reminder + filing assistance for the biennial Statement of Information (LLC-12)
  • Annual member-meeting minute resolution (single document)
  • BOI reporting compliance check (Corporate Transparency Act)
  • FTB compliance reminder (deadlines only — no tax work)
  • One short portal-based question per year on routine compliance

What’s not included

  • Drafting new agreements
  • Tax advice or filings
  • Disputes, litigation, demand letters
  • Employment law issues
  • Any matter requiring more than 30 minutes of attorney time per year

California state filing fees (pass-through)

Pass-through at cost — billed when incurred, with receipts on the invoice. Never marked up.

ItemAmountWhen
Articles of Organization (LLC-1)$70At formation
Initial Statement of Information (LLC-12)$20Within 90 days of formation
Biennial Statement of Information$20Every 2 years
California FTB franchise tax$800Annually, regardless of revenue
Expedited filing (24-hour)$350Optional
Expedited filing (same-day)$750Optional
Outside General Counsel · Monthly retainer

Priced against the alternative of hiring in-house.

California in-house counsel runs $200K–$350K/year fully loaded. These three tiers cover the same functional load at a fraction of that — and you don’t onboard or off-board headcount.

Hiring in-house

$200K–$350K

Per year, fully loaded.

Salary, benefits, equity, ramp-up, office. Plus the time to recruit, onboard, and eventually off-board.

Outside General Counsel

$18K–$114K

Per year, all-in. Three tiers.

Foundation $1,500/mo, Partner $4,500/mo, Embedded $9,500/mo. Scope known up front. No headcount, no ramp.

Pre-hire alternative to fractional GC

Foundation

From $1,500/monthUp to 4 hours / month

Founder-led California companies with regular but light legal needs — contract review, employment questions, vendor agreements.

What’s included

  • Up to 4 hours of attorney time each month, rolling 90-day window
  • Secure client-portal access for messages and documents, plus scheduled calls
  • Contract review (vendor, client, NDA) up to standard scope
  • Employment-question triage (Cal Lab Code, harassment policy questions)
  • Quarterly compliance check-in (BOI, FTB, SOI deadlines)
  • Discounted rates for matters that exceed monthly scope

What’s not included

  • Litigation (referred to litigation counsel we trust)
  • M&A or financing transactions (separate scope)
  • Tax advice
  • Out-of-California matters
Most common fit

Fractional GC for growth-stage companies

Partner

From $4,500/monthUp to 12 hours / month

Growth-stage California companies — Series Seed/A operations, multi-employee teams, regular contract throughput.

What’s included

  • Everything in Foundation, with up to 12 hours of attorney time each month
  • Priority response window (same-day for urgent matters)
  • Standing weekly or bi-weekly call
  • Operational employment counseling (offer letters, terminations, severance)
  • Vendor and client contract negotiation (not just review)
  • Annual contract template refresh (NDAs, MSAs, SOWs)
  • Quarterly legal-risk review

What’s not included

  • Litigation
  • Equity financings (separate transaction-based scope)
  • Securities or 409A work
  • Tax advice

Senior in-house counsel runs $250K–$350K/year. Partner gives you that judgment-level coverage on a fractional basis.

Book a call about Partner

Functional GC for late-stage companies

Embedded

From $9,500/monthUp to 25 hours / month

Late-stage California companies running on a functional GC who isn't ready for a full-time hire — or who doesn't want one.

What’s included

  • Everything in Partner, with up to 25 hours of attorney time each month
  • Listed as outside general counsel on company materials
  • Standing presence on operations calls and key vendor reviews
  • Quarterly board-package legal section
  • Coordination with specialist counsel (tax, IP, securities)
  • Annual policy review (employee handbook, contractor agreement, IP assignment)

What’s not included

  • Litigation (referred to litigation counsel we trust)
  • Equity financings, M&A diligence (separate scope)
  • Tax advice
  • Out-of-California matters

A full-time California GC averages $300K+. Embedded matches that functional coverage at roughly a third of the burden — and you don't onboard / off-board headcount.

Book a call about Embedded
Pricing isn’t a sales tactic. It’s a promise about scope. The number on the engagement letter is the number you pay — because we did the work to scope it before we asked you to sign.
Taylor E. Darcy— Founder & Managing Attorney
Pricing FAQ

The questions buyers actually ask.

We're not competing with LegalZoom on price. The lowest tier intentionally sits in the $750–$1,250 band that signals real attorney work. Below that, you're buying a software platform wearing legal-services clothing. Our work includes attorney-drafted, California-specific operating agreements and a real intake call — that work doesn't fit at $99.

Start the conversation

Not sure which fits? Book a 15-minute call.

The discovery call is short, candid, and free. We'll tell you whether the matter is one we can take, which engagement fits, and what it costs.

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