Resources
Contracts, in Plain English
Templates you can draft with Lex, the clauses that matter, how the law works where you are, and guides for studios, agencies and freelancers.
Templates
NDAs & IPMutual NDAA mutual NDA lets two businesses share confidential information both ways before a deal, and says what each side can do with it.Read →Client workStatement of workA statement of work sets the scope, deliverables, milestones and fees for one project under a wider services agreement.Read →Client workServices agreement (MSA)A services agreement sets the standing terms for every project with a client, so each new job needs only a short statement of work.Read →HiringIndependent contractor agreementAn independent contractor agreement hires someone to do work as a business of their own, setting the work, pay, ownership and how the arrangement ends.Read →Client workFreelancer agreementA freelancer agreement sets the brief, deliverables, rate, rights and payment terms between a freelancer and a client.Read →Client workConsulting agreementA consulting agreement sets out advice and expertise you provide to a client, billed by the day, the month or the project.Read →PartnershipsSubcontractor agreementA subcontractor agreement brings in help on a client project, passing down the right terms from your client contract.Read →Client workRetainer agreementA retainer agreement sets a monthly fee for a set amount of your time or availability, and what happens to unused hours.Read →NDAs & IPPhotography licenceA photography licence lets a client use your photos for set uses, places and time, while you keep the copyright.Read →PartnershipsInfluencer agreementAn influencer agreement sets the posts, platforms, dates, usage rights and payment for a brand campaign with a creator.Read →Client workWebsite build agreementA website build agreement covers designing, building and launching a site: pages, CMS, rounds of changes, hosting handover and ownership.Read →HiringOffer letterAn offer letter offers a role with job title, salary, start date and key terms, usually before a fuller employment contract.Read →
By jurisdiction
🇬🇧 Mutual NDA · England and Wales🏴 Mutual NDA · Scotland🇬🇧 Statement of work · England and Wales🇺🇸 Statement of work · New York🇬🇧 Services agreement (MSA) · England and Wales🇺🇸 Services agreement (MSA) · New York🇬🇧 Independent contractor agreement · England and Wales🏴 Independent contractor agreement · Scotland🇬🇧 Freelancer agreement · England and Wales🇬🇧 Consulting agreement · England and Wales🇬🇧 Subcontractor agreement · England and Wales🇬🇧 Retainer agreement · England and Wales🇬🇧 Photography licence · England and Wales🇬🇧 Influencer agreement · England and Wales🇬🇧 Website build agreement · England and Wales🇬🇧 Offer letter · England and Wales
Guides
GuideHow do you write a contract?Most of a good contract is decided before anyone writes a word, and the writing is mostly about saying those decisions once, clearly.Read →GuideWhat goes in a freelance or contractor agreement?Freelance agreements, contractor agreements and consulting agreements are mostly the same document with different names, and the parts that matter are scope, payment and ownership.Read →GuideWhat is an NDA, and what do you negotiate in one?An NDA is a short contract about one thing, information, and almost everything worth negotiating sits in four definitions.Read →
Clauses
IndemnityForce majeureLimitation of liabilityGoverning law and jurisdictionTerminationConfidentialityIntellectual property assignmentPayment termsEntire agreementAssignment and subcontracting
Law by country
🇬🇧 England and Wales🏴 Scotland🇮🇪 Ireland · pending🇺🇸 New York🇺🇸 California🇺🇸 Delaware · pending🇺🇸 Texas · pending🇺🇸 Florida · pending🇨🇦 Ontario · pending🇦🇺 New South Wales · pending
Blog
PostWhat an indemnity clause actually movesAn indemnity is a promise to pay for a specific kind of loss, and the interesting part is always which losses, from whom, and up to how much.Read →PostForce majeure: what counts, what doesn'tForce majeure lets a side off the hook for events outside its control, but only for the events the clause names and only for as long as they last.Read →PostNet 30, net 14, on receipt: payment terms in plain wordsPayment terms are a number and a starting point, and most late-payment arguments are really about the starting point.Read →PostIs an electronic signature legally binding?In the places covered here, an e-signature is treated as a signature, and the exceptions are about formalities such as witnesses, not about the technology.Read →PostDeed or agreement: which one are you signing?A deed is a contract with extra formality, and in England and Wales the formality changes how it is signed and how long a claim can be brought.Read →PostWhat a statement of work adds to a services agreementA statement of work describes the job; the services agreement above it describes the relationship, and the two are kept apart so the job can change without reopening everything else.Read →
Glossary
NDA (non-disclosure agreement)Statement of workRetainerDeedConsiderationCounterpartGoverning lawIndemnityLiability capWithout prejudiceBreach of contractE-signatureMaster services agreementMilestoneKill fee
Contracts for
How we source legal statements
Every legal statement cites a primary source (legislation.gov.uk, gov.uk, lawcom.gov.uk, law.cornell.edu, state legislature sites) with the date we checked it. Anything we could not open on the official page is marked pending verification and not relied on. Pages carry a pending-lawyer-review badge until a lawyer has read them. Nothing here is legal advice.