Should equity be given to lawyers and other early contractors?

Summary: When lawyers defer their legal fees, they
expect equityi for the risk of not getting paid. If their risk is low or
they’re not deferring fees, you can say no. In any case, offer them the
right to invest $25K-$50K in your financing instead of giving them free
equity.

A good general practice is to reserve true equity for KEY employees and investors. There are other stock options and deferred compensation tools to get help early and at low cost.

Read more here:

Also read here for contractor/vendor equity