Nick's Non-Negotiables
This note is written from my perspective—Nick, one of the founders of Neon Law.
Fifteen years ago, I started learning how to code while in law school. I was fascinated by how software could automate routine processes—something lawyers struggled with because they were stuck doing the same tasks over and over again.
I knew something special could happen if I built software for legal services. And I knew something even more powerful could happen if I built legal services as a law firm because we could serve clients in a way that truly makes a difference. I’ve always been frustrated by the divide between legaltech companies and law firms, where lawyers are seen as non-technical, creating a strange gap—one that turns lawyers into marketplace vendors instead of trusted advisors. But legal work isn’t transactional. It’s deeply personal, and it deserves a more thoughtful approach.
For years, I experimented with different ideas, but I ran out of steam because I felt like I was doing it alone.
Now, it’s 2025, and we have LLMs that allow me to write an immense amount of code and legal contracts, we dub Neon Notations, in a fraction of the time. I’ve also gained wisdom with age and have come to understand that persistence is everything. If I keep going, I will eventually find my tribe.
And so, after years of thinking and refining, I’ve landed on a few core principles—non-negotiables that define how I want to build Neon Law.
We will always open-source our codebase and all non-PII work
We choose the Affero license to protect our IP rather than fully permissive MIT or Apache-2 licenses. But more importantly, we believe in sharing our work because our tools aren’t what make us special—our relationships with our clients are.
We also want to set an example of what well-tested software looks like. Our repository runs all tests, all the time, because lawyers don’t sell uncertainty.
As lawyers, we sell determinism—the promise that we stand by our work and deliver legal advice with confidence and precision.
Privacy is a fundamental human right
We believe in privacy and the right to be left alone. It’s sacred for a person to choose what they reveal to others—no one should ever be forced to share something against their will.
That’s why we built Sagebrush Services, our affiliated virtual mailbox service, to reflect this value. With it, our clients never have to list their personal addresses when using our legal services.
Our software meets the same security standards as professional vendors because encryption and privacy aren’t nice-to-haves—they’re non-negotiable. This is how we uphold the sacred privacy inherent in attorney-client privilege.
We all make the same
Money can be a tough subject, but over the years, I’ve come to realize something: I will never let money define my life, and I certainly won’t let it be the reason I don’t help someone else. I aspire to give without expecting anything in return and to be completely egoless about it. (I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it.)
When all active members make the same, we shift the conversation from how much am I worth? to how can we work together to expand access to justice? We can all share access to our HR and payroll data.
It also makes our finances radically transparent—we plan for each other’s futures, not just our own.
My passion for building Neon Law is rooted in these principles because it will help me uphold my promise to do whatever I can to advance access to justice. This is my way of saying YOLO.
- Nick