Using Someone Else’s Agreement Might Be a Mistake
Earlier this week, I was called by a professional services provider (“Chelsea”) who was interested in my services. Chelsea had presented a confidentiality agreement – which she had found somewhere – to a prospective client for a large project. The prospect marked up the agreement pretty heavily, in ways Chelsea did not understand, and she wanted to make sure that her legal interests were protected.
I asked Chelsea to forward the marked-up agreement to me so I could see how much work I would have to do to help her. Within one minute, I could see the source of the problem. I called Chelsea. An edited transcript of our conversation follows:
Dana: May I be direct?
Chelsea: Yes, please.
Dana: The agreement that you provided is a mess, and it’s outside the mainstream for nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). It’s no wonder that your prospect made lots of changes.
Chelsea: Oh….
Dana: Rather than having me review this mess, you would be better off using one of the sample NDAs that are available as Free Downloads using the Sign Up button in the sidebar [which she did, deciding to start over with the prospect].
Lesson: Using someone else’s agreement might be a mistake. There is no guarantee that the agreement (a) was drafted properly or (b) is appropriate for your needs.
Related post: Ancient NDA Discovered
Photo credit: Ali Farid via stock.xchng
Dana H. Shultz, Attorney at Law +1 510 547-0545 dana [at] danashultz [dot] com
This blog does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal advice, please contact a lawyer directly.
Dana Shultz is a business-savvy lawyer located in Northern California's San Francisco Bay Area (in the East Bay, near Oakland) who has in-depth knowledge of law, business, technology, and the needs of startup and early-stage companies.