Ignacio V.
We hired Story on a monthly retainer
We hired Story on a monthly retainer, but it was never made clear to us that we would also be billed extra hourly fees on top of the agreed monthly amount. That alone was a frustrating surprise. Beyond billing, the advice we received did not translate into any real value for our company. In our experience it cost us money without contributing anything meaningful. We were also facing active litigation at the time, and months went by without anyone from Story following up to ask how things were going. For a law firm, that lack of engagement was disappointing. Overall, a bad experience. Unfortunately, we would not recommend them.
Response from Story LLP Software IncOct 7, 2026
We were engaged as a law firm, so we are restricted in what facts we can offer in our own defense here. We can cite invoices, engagement letter, and other materials which are not subject of attorney client privilege, in addition to the specific facts disclosed by the client himself here, and other public facts. We cannot say all we would as a result. In our third ***free*** intake call with Hokali, I was asked to represent the company in connection with ongoing litigation for which they already had other counsel, as explained in their review. I explained on this call, as I have on hundreds of calls with YC founders, that I was open to engagement to provide General Counsel advice, but I only bill by the hour to work personally on client matters with a specific approval because our focus is software innovation in the provision of legal advice. Hokali asked for just that. Out of sympathy, I offered the company our "YC Deal" - a published offer of a half hour of free call time per month for platform retainer subscribers, as a means to lower their bills. The platform retainer is $349 monthly, which is less than half an hour of my billable rate. I sent Hokali a custom proposal with introductory text that included guidance that accepting the proposal would "set you up with the retainer for custom work....the custom matters are included [below in the proposal] to track them and to be able to add documents and notes over time as we consider, but are always your option. For these, i would expect to refine the estimates in this proposal after conferring with specialist counsel." I also offered a free call to explore the software tools outlined below this introduction. After electing to engage our law firm, as a part of the subscription process, Hokali signed our form of engagement letter outlining our billing rates, billing practices, and the nature of work billed. In the first body paragraph, my billable rates are explained and the phrase "you agree to pay" is included. They signed by proceeding through our subscription flow where the $349 per month is clearly communicated as the cost of **software**. They had to confirm a selected software package. After signing, they were emailed a copy of this same signed engagement letter. We then have email and Zoom records reflecting SIX calls of a half hour or more between June and August 2026 with the founding team including Ignacio, as well as at times other counsel. Each of these calls were scheduled and conducted upon the client's express written request. This was not the only work. Calls were often scheduled on short notice, and multiple client parties attended these calls. We did not bill every minute worked. Indeed, we discounted significantly more than the .5 hours per month. We provided monthly, itemized bills reflecting the exact time spent. In each case, the bill reflected the half hour discount applicable during the software subscription term. The company continued to ask for work after receiving, but not paying, those bills. We have email records proving that we were in communication with the company through the end of August, totaling almost 3 months. It is true that with two months of unpaid bills, we did not further bill time to seek updates from the company when they had not requested anything from us. It is for the company alone to say whether our advice was valuable. Yet if the company received no value, it is curious that they continued to schedule calls and send emails seeking more advice. At no time have I ever agreed to provide unlimited legal advice to anyone for $349 per month. This fee is for software access, and it comes with software support. If you seek unlimited legal advice for $349/month, Story is not the right solution for you.