UpCounsel Raises $2.4 Million in Additional Funding Led by Metamorphic Ventures, Crosslink Capital

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- UpCounsel, an on-demand marketplace that makes it easier and significantly more cost-effective for businesses to get high quality legal help, today announced the close of $2.4 million in additional seed funding. The funding round was led by new investors Metamorphic Ventures and Crosslink Capital, along with participation from previous investors including Homebrew.

UpCounsel, which is already working with over 1,000 businesses throughout New York and California, will use the new funding to expand into other major business hubs in states like Illinois (Chicago) and Texas (Austin, Dallas and San Antonio).

"We are excited to be working with a great group of investors who share our vision and ambitions to give tens of thousands of businesses affordable access to amazing legal services," said Matthew Faustman, CEO of UpCounsel.

UpCounsel offers a cost-effective alternative to hiring an expensive full-service law firm by providing easy access to a virtual community of experienced lawyers practicing across dozens of legal areas. UpCounsel's free software matches attorneys to clients and tasks, and serves as a secure virtual workspace for the parties to manage communications, documents and digital signatures. By guaranteeing payment, handling billing, and dealing with other administrative tasks, UpCounsel continues to attract top independent lawyers and keep their overhead headaches and costs to a minimum. Many of the lawyers on UpCounsel have come from top law firms and companies with an average of 14 years of experience practicing law.

Since launching with a primary focus on legal services for startups, UpCounsel has significantly expanded its breadth of customers, now servicing companies as large as 800 employees (working directly with their General Counsels), and across numerous industries such as biotech, real estate, retail, food & beverage and even entertainment. Several reality television stars now use UpCounsel to negotiate their contracts. UpCounsel also serves as a great "go to" resource for employees of venture funded and pre-IPO companies for stock option and employee agreement legal reviews.

"With the continued unbundling of the workforce and the rise of the freelance economy, companies like UpCounsel will be at the forefront of new marketplaces for services," said David Hirsch, Managing Partner, Metamorphic Ventures. "Already, with the number of lawyers currently on the site, UpCounsel is equivalent to one of the largest law firms in the world while disinter-mediating firms with fat billable hours and pyramid partner structures."

About UpCounsel
UpCounsel is on a mission to make the legal experience remarkable for businesses. We provide small and medium businesses with an alternative to expensive and slow legal services through an online platform and an all-star virtual lawyer community. UpCounsel is working with thousands of entrepreneurs and companies to increase the quality and speed of legal services, while dramatically reducing costs. When businesses have easy access to great legal services, they make better decisions and can grow their business with confidence. The company is currently based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit www.upcounsel.com.

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SOURCE UpCounsel

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http://www.upcounsel.com