You can find anything on the Internet. That includes form legal documents. However, even though you can find a questionnaire legal document that may seem to pertain to your unique situation, when you use it? In the most of instances the answer then is no. Is that a self-serving answer at a lawyer or possibly is there a rational foundation for the answer? Read on to make your own determination.

Let me provide a peek into how I and several other attorneys draft contracts. At the core in the process is often a skill you learned in kindergarten: cutting and pasting. Even when I am drafting binding agreement involving an interest matter which is new to me, often there is some aspect of reusing clauses and elements of agreements that I manipulate before. The primary motivator behind this can be efficiency: if I need not draft many methods from scratch, then I can give the contract to my client a lot more quickly (and cheaply). Moreover, I am able to reuse clauses that I have spent a lot of time tweaking to have just right. In effect, the contracts that I write are generally a compilation of varied “form agreements.” Of course, additionally there is a significant amount of customized drafting and advance of clauses which can be necessary to fit the specific situation.

So, if I use forms, so why do I say that non-lawyers should never? Well, allow me to answer this by explaining a tad bit more of my drafting process. When I consider which document to use as a place to start, I need techniques to four questions: 1) which party did we represent, 2) was there equal bargaining power, 3) are there unusual circumstances, and 4) how heavily negotiated was the agreement. Thus, if I were representing a vendor of a small business, I would n’t want to start with a good thing purchase agreement that I drafted while I was representing a buyer who had the many bargaining power in a very transaction the spot that the seller was eager for cash together with no attorney. If I used that one asset purchase agreement, then I can be using a document that has been heavily stacked in favor of your buyer when I was representing a vendor. This drives home a most critical point: on the subject of legal documents, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.

So lets consider a particular example that appears to be quite normal. Suppose you may search the Internet for any free confidentiality agreement form as you need to use a consultant for ones business. The point of an confidentiality agreement is usually to protect the confidential and proprietary information your company uses to make whatever competitive advantage it’s in the marketplace, arguably the most valuable asset on the company. So, whenever you find a free confidentiality agreement form on the Internet that appears like it is often a good one, are you able to tell whether or not this was drafted to favor the business or to favor the consultant? If the proper execution is “neutral,” is the fact good enough for you personally or have you been more interested in employing a document that gives your company with just as much protection as it can be? Do you have the knowledge to know if the form agreement is missing any key components? Was the design agreement able to protect a company like yours? (Drafting to guard a technology company is far unique of drafting to defend a brick manufacturer). Is the only document you will need a confidentiality agreement or exist other ancillary agreements which can be important? Do the provisions in the shape agreement conform to the law applicable in your state or could areas of it be unenforceable? Without the strategies to these questions, there is no way to suit your needs to safely predict whether using the shape confidentiality agreement will protect your business or let it sit vulnerable.

A confidentiality agreement may seem like a normal and harmless agreement that is certainly picked up from virtually any source. Hopefully, this discussion has produced it clear there are many factors that must be considered so you need experience a lawyer to guide you through those considerations. In short, a confidentiality agreement has to be customized to fit the actual business and your circumstances. The same form of analysis does work for just about any legal agreement imagine. So, is it possible to find free legal documents on the Internet and rely on them? Sure. Will there be consequences? If you are extremely lucky, maybe not, but will it be a risk worth taking? If you execute an application agreement, it may possibly wind up being worse than having no agreement in any respect. Only you can evaluate if your business to too valuable to adopt such risks. You may choose that the risk is acceptable, but at the least you now have an idea in the nature of the risk.

DISCLAIMER. This article is for informational purposes only and is not created to refer to as well as to address particular circumstances faced by everybody or business. The statements in this particular checklist article provide Georgia law existing during the time the article was written. This article isn’t going to constitute legal counsel, nor is representation expressly or impliedly provided. Any business or individual having questions, concerns or issues concerning the issues addressed inside article should seek advice from counsel to cope with their own particular circumstances and legislation applicable with their situation. This article is not intended to produce an attorney-client relationship; Chorey Taylor & Feil, A Professional Corporation, provides legal services only pursuant to written engagements specifying the assistance to be provided.