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Incorporation to exit. Every jurisdiction. Independent firm economics.
Home / WLA Bench / Founders
WLA Bench · Founders

Incorporation to exit.
Every jurisdiction.
Independent firm
economics.

WLA Bench gives founders and founder-backed companies the institutional legal infrastructure that was previously only available to the biggest corporates — the best independent counsel in every jurisdiction, pre-approved, co-ordinated, and accountable.

Pre-approved
No firm selection in any new market
48hr
Team confirmed in writing
All stages
Incorporation to exit
IP-first
EU Unitary Patent on Bench from day one
WLA Bench includes
One brief as you enter each new market
Expanding into three new jurisdictions simultaneously? Brief WLA once. Right co-practice team in all three confirmed in 48 hours. No local firm search in each new country.
IP protected globally from day one
WLA Figueras (EU Unitary Patent, Barcelona UPC) and WLA partner firms in every jurisdiction where your IP needs protecting — on your Bench before you need them.
Fundraising co-practice — every investor jurisdiction
Term sheet review, investor due diligence, SAFE instruments, and closing documentation co-practiced with local counsel in every relevant jurisdiction simultaneously.
Exit co-practice — all structures
Trade sale, secondary, or IPO. WLA Bench covers every exit jurisdiction simultaneously. One brief. Named co-practice team. Institutional accountability throughout.
Live Intelligence
Active
EU AI Act
High-risk AI obligations — tech founders with EU users must complete compliance assessment now
Active
EU Unitary Patent
Barcelona UPC most active quarter in three years — WLA Figueras IP Practice Group co-practice at record
↑27%
APAC M&A
India and ASEAN investment most active in a decade — APAC expansion co-practice active
Active
India DPDP
12-month compliance window — founders with India users must act on cross-border data transfers
Active
CFIUS
Heightened screening for APAC investors in US tech — WLA APAC and Americas co-practice active
Why founder-backed companies configure WLA Bench

You are building across
borders. Your legal
infrastructure should too.

Founders expanding internationally face a recurring problem: every new jurisdiction means finding a new local law firm, negotiating a new retainer, briefing them from scratch, and then co-ordinating them alongside everyone else. It is a tax on growth.

WLA Bench eliminates that entirely. Configure once — around the jurisdictions you are in and the ones you are heading to. Every new market entry, every fundraising round, every IP filing, every acquisition is a single brief. The right co-practice team confirmed within 48 hours.

Market entry co-practice — simultaneous
Entering Germany and Singapore at the same time? Brief WLA once. Co-practice teams in both jurisdictions confirmed in 48 hours. Incorporation, employment, regulatory, and IP co-practiced simultaneously.
IP protection — global from day one
WLA IP Practice Group (Josep Figueras, Barcelona) co-practices global trademark portfolios, EU Unitary Patent strategy, and IP licensing across every jurisdiction your product reaches.
Fundraising — every investor jurisdiction
Term sheet review, investor due diligence, SAFE and convertible instruments, and closing documentation co-practiced in every relevant jurisdiction simultaneously.
Exit — all structures
Trade sale, secondary, or IPO. WLA Bench covers the whole exit — every jurisdiction where your company has entities, assets, or regulatory exposure — from term sheet to closing.
Before and after WLA Bench

What changes when
your legal infrastructure
is institutional.

The difference is not the quality of any individual piece of legal advice. It is whether your legal infrastructure scales at the same speed your company does.

Without WLA Bench
✕New local firm search in every new jurisdiction you enter
✕Separate briefings in each country — your team co-ordinates the output
✕IP filed reactively, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, as you grow
✕Legal bottlenecks at every fundraising round and acquisition
✕No institutional accountability — each firm advises independently
With WLA Bench
✓WLA Bench pre-configured — right counsel in any new jurisdiction in 48 hours
✓One brief to WLA — all jurisdictions co-practiced simultaneously
✓IP protected globally and proactively — WLA IP Practice Group on your Bench
✓One brief per funding round — all investor jurisdictions co-practiced at once
✓WLA Central Command — one institutional accountability, every inflection point
How WLA Bench works for founders

Configure early.
Scale without
legal friction.

The best time to configure WLA Bench is before you need it — so that when you enter a new market, close a funding round, or start an exit process, the infrastructure is already in place.

Step 01
Configure your Bench early
Tell WLA your company's key jurisdictions, growth roadmap, and practice group priorities. WLA identifies the right accredited partner firms for your panel — and confirms your Bench in writing.
Step 02
IP-first from day one
WLA IP Practice Group is on your Bench from the start — global trademark strategy, EU Unitary Patent, and IP licensing co-practice ready before you need it.
Step 03
Brief WLA at each inflection point
Market entry, fundraising round, M&A, or exit — brief WLA in plain language. One brief covers every jurisdiction. Named co-practice team confirmed in 48 hours.
Step 04
Scale without rebuilding
As your company grows into new jurisdictions, WLA extends your Bench to cover them — no rebuild, no new search, no starting from zero in each new market.
What your WLA Bench covers

Every legal inflection point
in the founder journey.
Co-practiced.

WLA Bench for founders covers every legal moment that matters — from the first incorporation through to the exit closing. All co-practiced with the best independent counsel in each jurisdiction, at independent firm economics.

Incorporation and entity structuring
Multi-jurisdiction entity structuring, holding company architecture, and regulatory setup co-practiced in every jurisdiction simultaneously — right from the start.
IP — EU Unitary Patent, trademarks, trade secrets
Global trademark portfolios, EU Unitary Patent strategy, patent filing, IP licensing, and trade secret protection co-practiced in every jurisdiction your product operates in.
Fundraising — seed, Series A through growth
Term sheet review, investor due diligence, SAFE and convertible notes, shareholder agreements, and closing documentation co-practiced in every investor jurisdiction.
Market entry and regulatory compliance
Employment, data protection (GDPR, DPDP), product regulatory compliance, and local entity setup co-practiced in every new market simultaneously.
M&A — acquirer and target
Both sides of founder-led M&A co-practiced — whether you are acquiring or being acquired. Every jurisdiction the deal touches, co-practiced as one team.
Exit — trade sale, secondary, IPO
All exit structures and all exit jurisdictions co-practiced from term sheet to close. One brief. Institutional accountability throughout.
Current founder intelligence

Live signals. For founders
building across borders.

WLA Bench founders clients receive relevant intelligence briefings before each engagement. These are the live signals most relevant to founders expanding internationally right now.

EU AI Act
High-Risk AI Obligations — Tech Founders Must Act Now
EU AI Act high-risk system classification and compliance obligations fully in force. All companies with EU users must assess their AI systems now. WLA EU firms advising tech founders on compliance programmes.
IP
EU Unitary Patent — Barcelona UPC Most Active Quarter Since Launch
Q1 2026 the most active UPC quarter since launch. WLA Figueras IP Practice Group co-practice at record levels. WLA Bench founders clients receive EU IP strategy briefing with each engagement.
DPDP
India DPDP — 12-Month Compliance Window Active for Founders
India DPDP Rules 2025 published. 12-month compliance window active. Founders with India users must audit cross-border data flows now. WLA Bench clients receive India DPDP briefing immediately.
CFIUS
CFIUS — Heightened Screening for APAC Investment in US Tech
CFIUS heightened screening for APAC investors in US technology companies. WLA Bench founders clients receive CFIUS risk assessment as part of fundraising co-practice engagement.
WLA Bench

Configure WLA Bench for your company.

Brief WLA on your company's jurisdictions, growth roadmap, and legal priorities. WLA configures your institutional co-practice panel. The best time to configure is before you need it — so when the moment comes, the infrastructure is already in place.