Governance and incentives that scale with you
Good governance and well-structured incentive schemes are foundational to a tech company’s long-term success. They align the interests of shareholders, directors and employees, and give a business the credibility and structure it needs to scale, raise capital, grow and eventually exit.
We help startups, scaleups and established tech companies adopt governance documents that are fit for purpose at each stage of their lifecycle. We design option plans and other equity incentive arrangements that help businesses retain key people and attract new talent without compromising the cap table or creating issues on an exit.
Our practice includes advising boards, founders and management teams on board composition and directors’ duties, shareholders’ agreements, constitutions, and other governance structures that satisfy investors whilst providing the flexibility needed for a high-growth tech business. On the incentives side, we help design and implement employee share option plans (ESOPs), advisor share agreements and other equity or phantom schemes, drawing on our international experience of key provisions and market expectations.
We also handle the detail that makes it all compliant and enforceable – board and shareholder resolutions, waivers and director certificates, so that share issues, option grants and other corporate actions are properly authorised. Throughout, we advise on compliance with the New Zealand Companies Act 1993, the New Zealand Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, and other applicable laws.
Resources
Key issues when structuring ESOPs
A guide on the key terms to consider when creating your ESOP.
Governance built for growth
Built in protection
Shareholder agreements and constitutions designed with the right safeguards as your business scales.
Option design from the ground up
From option pool size and vesting to leaver provisions. We build incentive schemes that work for your team.
Compliant at every stage
As you governance and incentive requirements evolve, we guide you through your obligations under the Companies Act, the Financial Markets Conduct Act, and other laws.
550+
ESOPs shaped by our lawyers to recognise and reward the people that build value.
We can help you create the right incentives too. Talk to us today.
Clear boundaries. Open paths.
We work closely the directors, management, and investors to ensure boards and shareholders know what to expect and have the right frameworks in place for success.
Clear governance gives your business the best foundation to grow and a well-designed ESOP rewards those people who support that growth.
Frequently asked questions
We do a lot of work for startups and founders, investors, and businesses who are dealing with tech – whether as a purchaser or vendor. But we don’t have one type of client. We think that’s a good thing. It means we’ve got great depth of experience across different situations.
We’re also big on transparency. If we don’t think we can help you, we’ll be upfront about that and are always happy to point you in the direction of someone who is better placed to do your work.
We get it — fit is important.
Kindrik Partners is a corporate and commercial law firm that is focussed on the technology sector, but we also do general corporate and commercial law work. Corporate and commercial law is a specialist area and we don’t advise on all areas of law. Check out our [Services] page for a detailed description of what we do.
If you’re unsure of whether we can help you, we suggest you book in for a 30 minute free consultation via our Contact Us page. The consultation is obligation-free.
It can be hard to know when best to involve a lawyer.
While some people worry that involving a lawyer early may result in extra legal cost, we find that the earlier we’re involved, the more likely we can help – and this reduces legal spend later in the process. We’re always happy to have a chat with you about whether it’s the right time for us to help.
This covers a 30 minute telephone or video call with one of our lawyers, and is available once for someone who isn’t an existing client.
While we don’t provide legal advice or review documents as part of that call, it gives us an opportunity to understand your business and legal issues, and to give you our initial thoughts and information on next steps.
After that, if you want to use us, we’ll set you up as a client and will provide you our Terms of Engagement (the terms on which we provide our services).
Generally, we charge on an hourly rate basis for time spent on your work. We add a 3% office services charge to cover office related expenses. If we have third party costs (e.g. PPSR search fees), we also charge these.
We’re happy to provide you an estimate for your work.
In some cases, we may agree a different fee arrangement and this will take into account the factors that we are required to consider under the Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers.
What we charge, and your payment obligations, are subject to our Terms of Engagement which we’ll provide to you when setting you up as a client.
Not usually. Until we start a job, it can be hard to know how much work is involved. E.g. if the work relates to a negotiation, the time it takes to complete the negotiation depends on the other side too.
But we understand that you want an idea of how much a job will cost. We’re happy to provide you an estimate. To do this, we will need to receive from you a clear understanding of what is the job. If you haven’t worked with us before and are unsure of what you need, we suggest you take advantage of our 30 minute free consultation so we can discuss your issue and get a better understanding of scope. See our Contact Us page.
Of course, but unless you have reviewed and verified that advice or content, it may not be the best way forward. Sometimes AI produces outputs that are long, not relevant, and inaccurate. If you haven’t reviewed and stress-tested the outputs, it can take us a long time to review them to work out what needs to be done. This can be expensive for you.
We think you are better to discuss with us first your legal issues, and we can advise the most efficient next steps.
Based on client feedback, we have fast turn around times compared to other law firms in New Zealand.
The turn around time for work depends on how urgent it is, how complex it is, and the availability of our lawyers.
While we always try to complete work as quickly as possible, if you have a deadline, we suggest you let us know when you send the work through. If there could be a problem with meeting that deadline, we’ll be up front about it.
Lawyers don’t always have the best reputation – when you think of a traditional lawyer, you probably see a person in a suit, with a pompous voice, using long words, and with a bill in hand. But don’t worry, we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
As for our favourite joke, where to start? A client asks her lawyer “how much do you charge?” “$500 for 3 questions.” “Isn’t that a bit expensive?” “Yes. What’s your third question?”