
Freelancer Contract Template (2018) - ColinWright
https://medium.com/@jyssicaschwartz/have-a-free-freelancer-contract-template-4a009f181830
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matthewmcg
A bit of free legal advice: you shouldn’t rely on others’ contract forms
without having a lawyer review them for your own needs.

There are a number of potential issues with this contract from a freelancer’s
point of view:

* It’s generally pro-customer form and is missing certain protections like a limitation on the amount of direct damages

* Lots of capitalized terms are not defined—for example, there is no definition for the freelancer’s preexisting works which are to be excluded from the assignment of IP ownership

* The company gets to decide how much to pay the freelancer if the contract is terminated before the project is complete—it’s more common to have this be based on T&M rates or something more objective

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travisluis
You'd expect the force majeure clause in this contract[1] to include
pandemics.

[1]
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bg_1m1C05YqTJzp5MBZMhlRE...](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bg_1m1C05YqTJzp5MBZMhlREemUrFrOvOE7rsNOc2X0/edit)

~~~
eightysixfour
IANAL but the way our in-house counsel explained it to me is that a pandemic
shouldn’t necessarily be a force majeure event, which is about the inability
of the parties to execute the contract.

A pandemic would cause a force majeure if the work can only happen onsite and
the government has shut down the physical offices.

A pandemic may cause a force majeure for a solo contractor if they catch the
disease and are in the ICU.

A pandemic would not cause a force majeure because a company has decided to
rethink its priorities as a result of a pandemic.

So a pandemic is covered by the concept of a force majeure without being
explicit. The again, we were arguing that the pandemic isn’t/wasn’t force
majeure so someone else may have other opinions.

~~~
ProblemFactory
Adding to that, force majeure is for unforeseeable events.

This global pandemic might qualify for contracts signed before January - but
not those signed in the future.

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thanksforfish
Contracts will vary based on local laws. This should clarify which locations
its intended to work within.

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aazaa
Login wall. There's no way I'm using Facebook or Google to log in. I'm not
sure the author even knows.

~~~
ColinWright
Bizarre ... I'm using incognito mode on Firefox, I'm not logged in, and I can
read this. I don't know what's different about your setup so I can't comment,
but it's definitely not asking me for a login.

~~~
MattGaiser
Medium's login wall comes up after you have read a few articles. I assume you
refresh your Incognito every little while, so you never reach that threshold.

~~~
ValentineC
Pro tip: you can quickly delete your cookies by clicking on the HTTPS lock
icon, and selecting:

\- Cookies on Chrome; and

\- Clear Cookies and Site Data on Firefox.

~~~
remram
Or we could stop publishing/upvoting Medium posts...

~~~
ColinWright
Or you could stop clicking on Medium posts, even when their presence here on
HN suggests that the submitter thought the content might be useful, valid,
valuable, or interesting.

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hashkb
Get at least 50% upfront for fixed fee projects. I always take 100%. Clients
can be very inventive when it comes to withholding payment, and freelancers
can't afford the time to arbitrate/sue. Companies know this and will bully you
into accepting their terms. Walk away.

~~~
Silhouette
Take some deposit so there is a degree of security and a degree of risk for
both parties, sure. But full payment, up-front, with nothing to show for it?
That seems entirely unreasonable and I can't understand why any rational
client would ever accept it, unless maybe you're some sort of super-freelancer
who's uniquely qualified and obviously in high demand.

~~~
hashkb
Usually by the end of the consultation period, it ends up seeming reasonable.
I don't have any tricks. Just direct, honest, hard work.

~~~
Silhouette
So you're not really demanding 100% up front, only after you've already
established the relationship and delivered some value during an initial
consultation period? That is a different proposition.

~~~
hashkb
Is it? I don't have a retail shop and a menu or anything; I need to have some
conversation to propose the work and timeline. That's all I'm saying. A couple
of free hours of estimating and discovery.

I assume everyone goes through this? Are folks getting work with no contact at
all?

~~~
Silhouette
OK, that's not what I thought you meant, then. I thought you were referring to
the kind of engagement where you have some sort of initial "getting to know
you" phase to clarify things like project requirements and contractual
structure before moving on to the main project itself. That initial phase
would usually be a paid engagement itself, though not necessarily on the same
basis as the main project, lasting a significant amount of time.

In the situation you're describing, I find it baffling that any rational
client would accept your terms for anything but the simplest and most
expendable engagements. If you can get them to, good for you, but how do you
get it past their legal team? Or are you only working with small clients who
might not get your terms reviewed before accepting them?

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tghw
A good supplement to this is Mike Monteiro's "Fuck You Pay Me" talk.
[https://vimeo.com/22053820](https://vimeo.com/22053820)

~~~
aliceryhl
The talk suggests that copyright should not be transferred until full payment,
which makes sense, but it seems like this contract doesn't do that.

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xellisx
Pay wall.

~~~
m5r
YouTube video that goes along with the post:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1ItNYnBDEU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1ItNYnBDEU)

Contract:
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bg_1m1C05YqTJzp5MBZMhlRE...](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bg_1m1C05YqTJzp5MBZMhlREemUrFrOvOE7rsNOc2X0/edit?usp=sharing)

~~~
xellisx
Thank you. Wasn't sure if it was about legal contracts or software design
contracts concept.

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gentleman11
What does it cost to get a lawyer to draft a custom contract like this?

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lawbot5000
This reads like a very pro-customer contract.

~~~
Silhouette
Definitely don't use it without having your own lawyer review it in the
relevant jurisdiction(s), but then that's true of any legal document you find
online.

As a non-lawyer who has worked with client contracts, I would be asking
questions about the basis for payment on early termination, timing of IP
rights transfer, IR35 (if working in the UK), etc.

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damagednoob
> I personally ask for a 25% deposit on all projects (not monthly retainer
> clients).

I think you have to be a bit sensible about this one. I've worked for
Salesforce and Warner Bros and I think it highly unlikely you would get the
finance department to go along with this.

~~~
hashkb
You absolutely can. They can afford it. Can you afford to walk away? If they
can tell you're thirsty, they'll convince you you're a dime a dozen and rake
you over the coals. That's finance's job; but everyone else's job is to get
the work out of you. Work around finance.

~~~
MattGaiser
Is there any reason to go through the hassle with established companies?

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thih9
If that's a hassle, receiving full payment might be a hassle too and we want
to avoid that.

