A modern law practice should feel understandable from the first click.
ClearScope Counsel is built for Missouri clients who want serious legal judgment without the old ritual of vague scope, unclear invoices, and law-firm theater performed under fluorescent lighting.
Dontay Phillips
Founder & Principal Attorney
Flat-fee Missouri counsel for families, founders, and small businesses — clear about the work, clear about the price, and clear about what comes next.
- Licensed to practice law in Missouri
- J.D., Certificate in Business & Corporate Law, Washington University School of Law
- FINRA Arbitrator
- Securities & compliance background: Goldman Sachs · FINRA · Wells Fargo
Clear about the work, the price, and what comes next.
I started ClearScope Counsel because I believe legal work should feel clear, practical, and honest from the beginning.
Too often, the traditional legal model treats delay like a feature, not a flaw. The old way rewards more hours, more back-and-forth, more uncertainty, and, too often, a final invoice that leaves clients wondering what exactly happened. That model may work well for lawyers. It does not always work well for families, founders, and small businesses trying to make smart decisions with limited time and resources.
ClearScope Counsel was built to offer a different experience.
My background sits at the intersection of law, financial regulation, and technology. Before founding the firm, I worked in compliance and legal roles with Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, better known as FINRA.
Those experiences taught me something simple: clients do better when expectations are clear, risk is explained plainly, and legal work is handled without mystery.
ClearScope Counsel embraces modern tools, including AI-enabled workflows, to make routine legal work faster, more organized, and more cost-effective. But technology does not replace legal judgment. Every matter remains attorney-led, carefully reviewed, and grounded in professional responsibility. The goal is not to make legal services feel automated. The goal is to remove unnecessary friction so clients receive thoughtful legal guidance without paying for outdated inefficiencies.
For estate planning, entity formation, contracts, and securities-adjacent compliance, our mission is the same: define the scope, explain the process, deliver quality work, and pass the savings back to the client.
I am grateful to every client who trusts ClearScope Counsel with important decisions for their family, business, or future. You deserve legal counsel that is clear about the work, clear about the price, and clear about what comes next.
That is the standard ClearScope Counsel was built to meet.
Founder & Principal Attorney, ClearScope Counsel
“You should know the plan, the documents, and the price before you commit, not discover them on an invoice.”
Remote-first across Missouri, with secure intake and video consultations. The tools handle the repetitive work; the judgment stays with a licensed attorney who is responsible for your matter.
Plainspoken
Clients should understand the plan, the documents, the process, and the price before committing.
Productized where sensible
Repeatable legal work gets clear systems, checklists, templates, and scoped deliverables.
Human where it matters
AI and automation support routine work. Legal judgment, strategy, and client care stay attorney-led.
Families, founders, and the businesses in between.
Four kinds of clients across Missouri, one standard for all of them: a defined scope, a fixed price, and plain answers. The numbers below set the scene. Your matter is the point.
Families
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and probate. A plan that protects the people who matter, written so you can actually read it.
Founders & startups
Formation, founder and operating agreements, equity, and contracts for companies being built across St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield.
Small businesses
Nearly 99% of Missouri businesses are small, and they carry 1.1 million jobs. Ongoing counsel without the cost of a full-time legal department.
Advisers & securities-adjacent
More than 150 SEC-registered advisers call Missouri home, many of them lean shops facing Wall Street-grade rules. Compliance help that speaks their language.
Figures are approximate and drawn from U.S. Census / American Community Survey, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Investment Adviser Association.