My “New Age” Law Firm Will Be Merging
A summary, if you missed the original announcement: this month, I will be merging Paige Hulse Law with the law firm of Winters & King. This is as much of a strategic alignment as it is merger: the combination of Winters & King’s legacy with Paige Hulse Law’s entrepreneurial, internationally recognized practice will create something unique that not only endures, but amplify each other’s strengths in a way that will allow us to both better work with our innovative clients.
Since beginning my law firm from my front porch in 2017, I’ve had the opportunity to work with somewhere around 1500 founders and small business owners around the world. I’ve watched my clients’ startups grow into multifaceted companies — expanding into new industries and evolving their own legacies in real time; expanding from single ventures into thriving multi-business portfolios across creative and tech industries.
As my clients’ businesses (and the industry in general) have grown, my own business ventures have grown/tackled innovation head on in the world of AI. I walk in lockstep with many of my clients, as an entrepreneur myself. However, the one resource/thing that hasn’t evolved is my capacity. In order to continue to push the limits of what we think possible to generate impact and industry recognition for my clients, I’ve chosen to merge my online, “new-age” law firm with the legacy-rich Winters & King; a firm that has provided trusted and steadfast support to clients for more than 40 years. Together, we will be able to bridge the gap between balancing local trust while maintaining the global reach of my law firm’s business model.
For over 8 years, my firm has operated in a “new age” model; working as an entrepreneur, with entrepreneurs; an online business owner, oftentimes with online business owners. The work I get to do with my clients every day is genuinely what I know I was put on earth to do, and I’m building this business model (that I believe so much more of my storied profession should adopt) with my mind’s eye on legacy. In order to continue to provide the impact and intentionality I intend to continue to provide (particularly as the entrepreneurial landscape continues to evolve in the wake of AI), it is time to expand beyond just my own reach.
I love my law firm primarily because I have been able to forge my own path, and create a unique practice that emulates what I have admired so much in my mentors’ work: a firm that meets clients where they’re at; provides peace of mind while also challenging conventional thinking, and helps turn dreams into business that pour back into my clients’ families. I am so proud of the heritage we have created together.
A Storied Past Meets A New Age Firm
The (singular) reason why I am merging with Winters & King is because, upon walking into the conference room and meeting my soon to be colleagues, I knew intuitively that I was meeting colleagues who held a similar incredibly high bar of integrity. Where my firm has steadily weathered and adapted to the seachanges of business of the last near-decade, these colleagues have built a law firm that has not only weathered the storms of the last 40 years, but grown deep roots, with a deep legacy. The seemingly- contrasting paths between these two firms is now culminating into a “one of one” result: the merging of both ideologies to create something new.
What’s more, at Winters & King, none of my clients will be subjected to the “old school” version of lawyering; faceless associates and random hourly billing. Winters & King and I will be working in tandem to meld together my “new age” version of practice with their storied past, which will allow us both to work in an even higher capacity for all of our clients in this innovative era.
The only true changes that my clients will experience is that, while the name “Paige Hulse Law” will no longer exist, I will finally be able to provide the highest quality of white-glove service and personal counsel (and continued direct access) that I endeavor to provide in every client experience, with a faster turnaround rate.
In the same way that I trust the integrity of Winters & King-Winters & King trusts and recognizes that innovation sometimes requires a slightly different approach than conventionality. Together, I would posit, we will be able to enrich the heritage that each of us attorneys hope to create in our legal counsel, building off of my firm’s innovative approach, with Winters & King’s legacy. We’re walking into this merger together, bringing a balance of legacy, innovation, and reach that will define the next chapter of our work.
Legacy and Innovation Walk In Tandem
If owning a law firm has taught me anything, it is that legacy and innovation are not opposites. In fact, they’re necessary complements.
The legal field is one of the oldest, most storied professions in the history of western civilization. And us lawyers love to reference that fact- many times, the answer to questions are “it just is”.
But at the same time, the hard truth is that many law firms won’t survive the next wave of business. In the same way the “dot com” boom of the early 2000’s created an earthquake in the business world, the AI boom we are currently experiencing will have an even greater impact on this industry I love so deeply.
When I started my firm in 2017, I was labeled as “wild”, “new age”, and “a hobby firm, all because I met clients where they were. I didn’t expect anyone to suddenly realize they needed legal support for questions they didn’t yet know to ask. So instead of waiting for that moment, I met them halfway. I built my education online (and yes, I was told I gave away too much for free), hosted every call virtually, and allowed clients to book on their own time — long before that became industry standard. What was once seen as rebellious simply became results-driven — the work spoke louder than convention ever could.
Clearly, I am passionate about innovation in my storied profession, but this second half-decade has shown a light on a different angle: now that I’ve found (and demonstrated) a different vehicle for the practice of law, it’s not that it’s a question of whether or not it’s “time for something different”. Quite the contrary, it’s time to lift up/bring traditional firms to this new age; work together to amplify the heritage we can create together
History is created by pioneers, as evidenced time and time again in history. This innovative era is not only proving this to be true yet again: this era is going to require a new level of innovation in founders.
This is precisely why I’m merging my practice with Winters & King– to continue to meet my clients “where they’re at” while they continue to grow, expand, and climb/innovate, I must do the same. Where every general counsel client has been able to lean on my counsel for their general business needs (and probably heard me mention business succession planning along the way, or 501(c)(3) opportunities, or navigated those pre-litigation strategies), my “zone of genius” is intellectual property. Specifically, how to extract the IP you’ve already created, and flip it into potential licensing deals that have a 10x effect on your business. But, there are so many other legal needs your business encounters as you break through new levels of business.
Instead of looking for/ waiting for referrals for those other matters, I will now just have to walk down the (proverbial) hall and work in tandem with my colleague in that expertise.
Winters & King operates essentially as an “outside general counsel” firm (unique for a law firm), with a few attorneys who practice transactional/contract law, a few litigators, a 501(c)(3) attorney, a family law attorney, an estate planning attorney, an attorney who specializes in book agencies, and intellectual property (yours truly). I’ll be the tenth attorney, so while we are a small team, we are able to work effectively and efficiently for our clients. Where I tried to wear all of those hats for every client for almost a decade, I’m merging with a team of attorneys who can step in and strategize with me immediately. At the outset, I estimate that the majority of my “general counsel” cases in the last quarter could probably cut their working time with legal by ¾. This merger is the erasure of the “legal hold” that I abhor in any and every business dealing.
The Legal Industry Will Need To Adapt To Innovation
Winters & King’s recognition of this shift is exactly why our collaboration matters – together, we’re equipping clients to protect their intellectual property in the AI era. And by doing so in a collaborative manner, we’ll be able to amplify our singular effect on any client.
In 2020, an estimated 34% of Americans had a “side hustle”. By 2021, that number grew to 2 in 5 Americans (approximately 40%), and that number continues to rise. According to the same report, the trends in the corporate workplace reflect this shift of values: corporations are becoming more comfortable doing business with self-employed individuals that are working remotely, something that will create a “permanent shift in the move towards self-employment.”
As my law firm has grown (in tandem with my other ventures), it was time to “grow and scale”. The question wasn’t one of “when”, but “how”. As discussed, growing vertically would have required a few years of training associates, likely at the expense of either my entrepreneurial ventures outside of law, or client focus. I wasn’t willing to sacrifice either. The second option was growing “vertically”: merging.
It’s not easy or common, but it’s possible to scale vertically (merge) while also preserving independence/ preserving those elements that made Paige Hulse Law a true advocate for entrepreneurs and founders worldwide. The lean, intentional 10-person team model is the antithesis of impersonal corporate firms; and precisely what I always hoped to build.
We’re entering a new era of industry, driven by the AI revolution. I’m seeing this within my own companies, of course, with the inception of the Creative Law Foundry™. Intellectual property will be the battleground of this argument; with oligarchies calling for the dismantling of all intellectual property. Intellectual property is, and will continue to be, the first line of defense in maintaining creative autonomy in the age of AI. Those who are able to build in tandem with (not reliance upon AI) will soon be the only actors who can own their intellectual property, which will not only catapult the value of their intellectual property; intellectual property could soon become one of the most rare “natural resources” on earth. For those business owners who maintain their ability to register their work, you’re in a prime position to charge a premium in licensing fees, or in increasing the value of your company.
I believe that the majority of the entrepreneurial industry will be a bit behind the “8 ball” when it comes to recognizing this magnificent opportunity they are sitting upon. By merging with Winters & King, my clients and I will now be in a prime position to move efficiently and effectively, seizing these opportunities. The work my clients and I have accomplished together in the last 8 years will only be amplified by the legacy and heritage of WK.
Building A Law Firm
Something that I have continued to remain so proud of in my own practice is the way in which I’ve been able to work with my clients as true advocates- not just “other names on a paper”. In other words, I know that legal isn’t always the most “fun” area of business (said very tongue in cheek); but I grew up watching my dad (an entrepreneur) invest his first dollars into working with the best attorneys he could in his industry. Those attorneys weren’t just random expenses on his balance sheet; those were the advocates who allowed for my dad to build a business without sharing any of the legal stress with my sister and I (mind you, in a very litigious industry).
Those attorneys didn’t just care about one deal; they cared about my dad, his business dealings (and by default, our family) and provided my family with a peace of mind I now realize is unfortunately rare in my industry.
I started my firm in 2017 in order to provide exactly that. While yes, I’m a resource to help “get deals done”, the vast majority of my clients and I work together on an ongoing basis. We strategize, we blend the “business” with the “legal” lens, and together, we’ve been able to accomplish what I consider to be the true (and rare) definition of what “advocacy” truly means.
This is a partial factor in terms of why I chose to merge with Winters & King- they operate from the same mindset. That’s so rare in the legal world. What’s more, this is the complete opposite of a large, impersonal corporate firm where work gets shuffled to unseen associates. It’s a ten-person team, working in tandem, where white-glove counsel is the norm and every client has direct access to the partner they’ve trusted from the beginning — or one they’re growing with in a new sector of law because their needs are evolving. Mutual collaboration defines not only how we operate internally, but also how we serve externally — personally, intentionally, and without bureaucracy.
This isn’t a large, impersonal corporation. It’s a ten-person team where clients receive direct, white-glove counsel without layers of associates and bureaucracy.
Not only will I be able to continue in the role I love so much of working with clients on a deep, personal level; my access/direct counsel won’t change. In fact, it’ll just be amplified- Winters & King and my law firm paired together will be able to continue this torch of legacy that has been so important to me, amplified. And I think that will be more important than ever in the coming era.
Heritage Adapting- Paige Hulse Law Merges With Winters and King
This collaboration is built on respect and reciprocity, where each voice adds depth and perspective to the other. Together, we create counsel that carries the weight of legacy while opening new space for expansion and possibility — a collaboration that is intentional and designed to endure. Heritage doesn’t stand still — it adapts. We’re proving legacy and evolution can coexist. I can’t wait to see how we’re able to to, in our own way, revolutionize the legal industry working together, by bringing it back to what truly matters: acting as an advocate, providing protection, pioneering innovation, while deepening trust and strength for our clients, while also providing peace of mind where it matters most.
You can trust the continuity of your experience. Current and new clients can continue to work directly with Paige for intellectual property, trademarks, and outside general counsel. Learn more in our FAQ hub.
