We’re a unique team of practically-oriented lawyers, working hands-on with technology startups and emerging growth companies, and participating directly in environmental activism.

Introduction

At Terrain, being an excellent lawyer is just the beginning, and providing legal counsel in a vacuum just isn’t enough. Our startup clients have real and urgent business objectives, and we tailor our counsel accordingly. Similarly, the growing ecological crisis demands a new way of being in relationship with the natural world, and we’re working to embody these changes as individuals and as a business.

Underlying all the work we do is a passion for understanding what it means to be human and the implications of these questions on both the economy and on the environment. Workplaces, campaigns, and movements are all driven by very human elements. Whether it’s unconscious bias leading to a lack of women in leadership positions in Silicon Valley, or fears projected onto the natural world contributing to environmental destruction, we all have work to do in order to foster a sustainable economy, heal our communities, and protect the planet.

Apparently divergent on their face, these issues have something in common: they are the focus of creative, passionate people who are determined to shape our world for the better. And those people need lawyers who can support their efforts. Terrain Legal offers alternative approaches to addressing legal issues for entrepreneurs in these seemingly disparate walks of life and works to create new ways for lawyers and legal structures themselves to be agents of change.

See what this means for both our Startup work and our Activism.

Who We Are

Terrain is not a typical law practice, and our team is not a typical group of lawyers. Each of us came here to be part of something different and to bring this unique perspective and approach to the work we do.

Find out more about the team.

As a member of 1% for the Planet, Terrain donates 1% of its revenues to environmentally-focused nonprofit organizations. It’s important to us that this is not based on profits, but revenues. This is a fundamental obligation we take very seriously that comes with the privilege of being in business on this planet. Separate from (but certainly related to) the Activism we undertake, this pledge is a baseline for us, a reflection of our commitment to pitching in and contributing to organizations that are working to protect our planet, our communities, and our children’s future.

Since its inception in 2002, 1% for the Planet has directed over $250 million to these organizations and now counts its membership at over 3,000 businesses and individuals that give to nonprofits in over 90 countries around the world. That’s pretty rad, and it’s an honor to be a small part of such an amazing community.