I disagree with almost none of this. I would just note two quick things: 1) Due diligence requests are made by the investor, not offered by the company. So,

I disagree with almost none of this. I would just note two quick things: 1) Due diligence requests are made by the investor, not offered by the company. So, it's not about the company's desire for full disclosure or the company's interest in complying with SEC regs. (SEC regs require certain types of disclosures in connection with certain types of placements of securities. The typical VC funding round doesn't require such disclosures.) 2) Yes, lawyers are in the business of decreasing transactional risk. But, relatedly though slightly different, the reason VC lawyer due diligence requests are so long is that lawyers are risk averse. There is no downside to the lawyers to add something to the DD list, but there is certainly a potential cost if they leave something off. And the junior lawyers who deal with these things aren't being paid for creativity or independent judgment...(Not a knock on them. It's just not what junior lawyers are tasked with.)