Mark Underwood

Fractional CLO & Startups.com Community Leader (Legal). I make early teams launch and fund—cap table, SAFEs/notes, IP, privacy/AI policy, and GTM contracts—fast, flat-fee sprints.

I help founders ship and raise without tripping legal landmines. As a Startup.com Community Leader (Legal) and Fractional CLO, I build the legal architecture investors expect: clean formation and cap table, SAFEs/notes that close, defensible IP/licensing, and privacy/AI compliance your customers will sign off on.

I help founders ship and raise without tripping legal landmines. As a Startups.com Community Leader (Legal) and Fractional CLO, I build the legal architecture investors expect: clean formation and cap table, SAFEs/notes that close, defensible IP/licensing, and privacy/AI compliance (GDPR/CCPA) that enterprise buyers accept. I co-architected LawvocateAI, a consumer-centric legal GPT that guides IP and startup workflows, and I’ve spent 37 years at the law/tech edge supporting teams from Microsoft, General Motors, and NASA to early e-commerce pioneers (Spartan Stores; advisor to Louis Borders on what became WebVan). My approach is product-minded: crisp docs, decisive recommendations, and reusable playbooks that help your team move faster. Engagements include ongoing Fractional CLO, a fixed-fee 2-week Investor-Ready Sprint (data room + financing docs + policies), or scoped office hours for first-time founders. Remote-first; collaborative with your existing counsel and investors.

My 37 years at the law/tech edge span F100 to pre-seed and include co-architecting LawvocateAI and advising on data-heavy, regulated products. I favor crisp docs, decisive recommendations, and reusable playbooks so your team moves faster. Engagements: ongoing fractional CLO, fixed-fee 2-week “Investor-Ready” sprint (data room + financing docs + policies), or scoped office hours for first-time founders.


“How I Help”

Investor-ready in days: formation, cap table, board consents, data room

Rounds that close: SAFEs/convertible notes, disclosure, side letters

IP & licensing: protect core tech; structure creator/AI & data rights

Data/AI posture: privacy (GDPR/CCPA), DPAs, AI policy, security playbooks

Contract velocity: MSA/SOW, vendor templates, redline standards

Governance that scales: board hygiene, conflicts, auditability

Ideal Matches
Startup lawyer + Fractional CLO for AI/SaaS/fintech. I paper rounds (SAFE/convertible), clean cap tables, protect IP, and de-risk GTM with privacy/AI policies, DPAs, and MSAs buyers accept. 37 years at the law/tech edge; co-architect of LawvocateAI and past work with Microsoft, GM, NASA, and WebVan—modes: fractional CLO, 2-week sprint, or office hours.

Technical founders (AI/ML, SaaS, fintech, health/data)

Pre-seed → Seed raising $250k–$3M needing tidy diligence

Post-MVP teams selling into enterprise or regulated buyers.

Ways to Engage (short)

Fractional CLO • 2-Week Legal Sprint • Office Hours (Q&A) • Policy/Data Sprint

Skills / Keywords (paste into tags)

Fractional CLO, Startup Lawyer, SAFE, Convertible Note, Cap Table, Delaware C-Corp, Governance, Board, IP, Licensing, Trade Secrets, Privacy, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, AI Policy, Data Protection, DPA, MSA/SOW, Healthtech, Fintech, SaaS, Blockchain/DLT, Fundraising, Diligence, Playbooks, Templates

The Underwood Group (Managing Partner Mark Underwood, Michigan-licensed; WD-Michigan) is piloting a modern Access-to-Justice and attorney enablement stack. Lawvocate is our AI legal agent that gives plain-language guidance, drafts first-pass documents, and runs hallucination checks—clearly disclaimed as not legal advice and designed to hand off seamlessly to a lawyer. We then offer unbundled legal services, including flat-fee legal and document review, and escalate to targeted counsel as needed.
For litigation, attorneys and self-represented litigants can step into JuristAI—our lifecycle platform with LitigAI.org (civil) and FedCrim.ai (criminal): guided intake, including fact timelines; discovery analysis at scale; calendaring extracted from documents; brief generation with court-compliant formats; and safety rails for AI outputs. This Michigan POC (state + WD-MI) is engineered to be a white-label program for firms across Michigan and, where permitted, other jurisdictions. Affiliate/partner structures are offered subject to professional-rule compliance (e.g., lawyer-to-lawyer fee arrangements; no fee sharing with non-lawyers). Outside Michigan, Mark serves as a Fractional CLO (legal-ops advisory only) to clients worldwide.