Switched from boilerplate contracts to custom templates after a $3,200 mistake

Honestly, I used to just grab generic contract templates off the internet for client work. Then I got burned on a deal in Austin last spring where the boilerplate missed a key indemnity clause for data breaches. Cost me $3,200 in legal fees to sort it out after the fact. I finally paid a local business lawyer $500 to build me custom templates for my freelance consulting gigs. Has anyone else had a cheap template backfire on them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oliver7d ago

Same here, custom templates saved me so much headache after one bad deal.

david_reed226d ago

Wait, that $3,200 was for legal fees not a settlement right?

williamw757d ago

My buddy Dave kept telling me generic templates were fine and I defended them for years. Then I had a situation last fall where a boilerplate subcontractor agreement I downloaded missed a non-solicit clause entirely. My best carpenter got poached by the general contractor on that $40,000 job and I had zero legal ground to stand on. That 500 dollars for a proper set of custom templates feels cheap now compared to what I lost in future work.