Legal Retainership · India · Startups and Corporates
Your own legal team on a fixed monthly retainer, from Rs 10,000 a month. Contracts, DPDP and GDPR compliance, POSH, fundraising documents, IP, legal notices and dispute resolution, drafted and advised by Bar Council-enrolled advocates. Built for Indian startups, private limited companies and growing businesses.
Yes. Share your stage, team size and the legal workload you are dealing with. An advocate from our team will recommend the right plan and send a clear monthly proposal. No long-term lock-in, cancel anytime.
Usually yes, if your legal work is steady but a full-time lawyer is premature. Every growing Indian company hits the same problem. Contracts, hiring, compliance, fundraising and the occasional dispute become constant, but an in-house lawyer or company secretary on payroll is expensive. Paying a law firm per task means unpredictable bills and a lawyer who must be re-briefed every time.
A legal retainership solves this. For a fixed monthly fee starting at Rs 10,000, you get an advocate who knows your business on call: drafting and reviewing contracts, keeping you compliant with the DPDP Act and other regulations, handling POSH and employment documents, supporting your fundraising, protecting your IP, and sending or replying to legal notices.
My Legal Pal provides legal retainer services across India for DPIIT-recognised startups, private limited companies, LLPs and established businesses. One advocate-led team for your whole legal function.
No. Most businesses need a middle ground between hourly one-off work and a full-time lawyer they cannot yet afford. That middle ground is a retainer. These are the problems it removes.
A good in-house counsel in India costs Rs 12 to 30 lakh a year. For most startups and SMEs that is unaffordable or hard to justify, so the role goes unfilled and risk quietly builds up.
When you engage a lawyer per task, they need time to understand your business each time. You pay for context-building again and again, and nobody really knows your contracts or cap table.
Without dedicated support, founders handle DPDP, POSH, contracts and HR policies themselves. Hours are lost, things get missed, and a missed deadline becomes a penalty.
Yes. A dedicated advocate becomes part of your extended team, knows your business and grows with you.
One point of contact who knows your business, your team and your priorities.
Fast turnaround for urgent matters: 48 hours, 24 hours or same day by plan.
Cumulative knowledge. Every conversation builds on the last, instead of starting from zero.
We flag risks before they become problems, with a compliance calendar for DPDP, POSH and ROC deadlines.
A predictable legal budget from Rs 10,000 a month. No surprise invoices.
Direct access for urgent situations and real-time guidance when something lands.
For most startups and SMEs, yes. The table compares the three ways a company buys legal support in India.
| Dimension | In-house counsel | Legal retainer | Hourly / per-task |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Rs 12 to 30 lakh a year | Fixed, from Rs 10,000/month | Unpredictable per matter |
| Response time | Immediate | Priority, by plan | Standard |
| Knows your business | Deeply | Yes, growing continuity | Fresh each time |
| Proactive monitoring | Yes | Yes, compliance calendar | No |
| Scalability | Fixed | Flexible, change anytime | Variable |
| Best for | Large, constant legal volume | Growing startups and SMEs | Occasional one-off needs |
The retainer gives you the continuity of in-house counsel, the flexibility of an external firm and a cost you can plan around.
Yes. The Starter plan is Rs 10,000 a month. Three plans scaled to your stage, all advocate-led, monthly, with no lock-in.
Early-stage and DPIIT startups
Funded and scaling companies
Established businesses and enterprises
Included documents and notices are per month and do not roll over; anything beyond your plan is handled with credits or quoted case by case. Prices cover legal advisory and drafting. Government fees, stamp duty and CA/CS filing fees are charged separately at actuals. Want the full breakdown? Read how much a legal retainer costs in India. Not sure which plan fits? Tell us your workload and we will recommend one.
Yes. A retainer brings your recurring legal needs under one advocate-led team. Coverage scales with your plan.
Yes. The daily contract workload of a growing company: drafting and reviewing MSAs, service agreements, vendor and distributor contracts, NDAs, consultant and contractor agreements, and SaaS or subscription terms, with priority turnaround. If you only need one agreement, our contract lawyers in India work on a fixed fee per contract.
Yes. Compliance is where Indian companies carry the most hidden risk. We keep you aligned with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 through our data protection lawyers in India, with GDPR where you serve EU users, and with the POSH policy and committee that every company with 10 or more employees must have. That includes your terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy.
Yes, with our company secretary partners. Board resolutions, minutes, statutory registers and annual ROC filing coordination. CS and government filing fees are charged separately at actuals.
Yes, on the Growth and Corporate plans. Founders’ agreements, SAFE and convertible notes, CCPS, shareholders and share subscription agreements, ESOP documents and due-diligence support. See our guides to iSAFE vs CCPS vs CCD and term sheet and SAFE note review in India.
Yes. Trademark registration and prosecution, IP assignment from founders and contractors, copyright, and the IP clauses across your contracts.
Yes. Offer letters, employment agreements, contractor agreements, HR policies, employee handbooks, ESOP letters, and advice on hiring, exits and full-and-final settlements.
Yes. A legal notice to send or reply to, a recovery of dues matter, pre-litigation strategy, and negotiation and mediation to keep matters out of court.
Yes, if your legal work is regular but not yet a full-time role. These are the profiles we serve most.
Yes. You are past the free-template stage but far from needing an in-house lawyer. The Starter plan gives you an advocate on call for the contracts, hires, DPDP compliance and early fundraising that suddenly need doing properly.
Yes. After a raise the legal volume jumps: customer contracts, a growing team, investor obligations, IP and compliance. The Growth plan is your outside legal team at a cost the board can plan around.
Yes. Established Indian businesses that need steady contracts, employment, secretarial and dispute cover without a full in-house department. If you need one-off help instead, our startup lawyers in India work on a fixed fee per case.
Yes, for Indian-law needs. If you have EU or international customers, we cover GDPR alongside DPDP. For cover under foreign law, our global fractional GC service is the better fit.
Bundled in your retainer, or available individually.
MSAs, service, vendor and employment agreements.
Data compliance, privacy and cookie policies.
Protect your brand and IP.
Send or reply, recovery and disputes.
SAFE, CCPS and term sheet review.
Negotiation, mediation and arbitration support.
Short answers to what Indian founders ask us most.
Yes. This service is led by Prakhar Rai, an advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of India and the founder of My Legal Pal. An alumnus of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, with a Master of Business Laws, Prakhar has 10+ years advising startups, private limited companies and entrepreneurs on contracts, compliance, fundraising and corporate matters. Retainer clients work with qualified advocates who understand Indian company law, the DPDP Act and the day-to-day legal needs of a growing business.
Reviewed by Prakhar Rai, Advocate (Bar Council of India). Last updated: November 2026.
Contracts, DPDP and GDPR compliance, POSH, fundraising, IP and disputes, advocate-led, on a fixed monthly retainer. Built for Indian startups and companies. Cancel anytime. Government and CA/CS filing fees excluded.
No lock-in · +91 8004800100 · contact@mylegalpal.com
