My app is built on the Salesforce platform. I was thinking of creating the Master Services Agreement myself by copying the agreement from other providers. I am trying to save legal fees. What are your thoughts on it? Stupid or okay to copy?
Similarly, I need the agreement for NDA with consultants, etc. I was thinking of using an off-the-shelf agreement.
If you can find agreements from companies having a similar activity than yours, it's OK. That's the point: you can't get Boeing agreement to sell Coca Cola, but you can use Pepsi's one. Idem for NDA, there are not some much variation in them.
Of course, an attorney would say you must absolutely have yours, made by a professional, blah blah... but I'm not an attorney, I'm a startup founder, and my agreements are hand made by mixing a few ones :o)
Anyway, take the time to read many of them and craft your agreements. You can extract original ideas from some of them an choose what you like or not. And you can remove what will never concern your activity. It takes long hours, but this time is valuable, you will certainly learn something.
You can definitely create a legal agreement yourself, but the real problem is that the NDA is intended to pre-empt potentially unscrupulous people. In order to do that, you need the fangs of a law firm behind it. An agreement that is just a bunch of words is not nearly as effective as an agreement plus say, DLA Piper.
Also, a number of the more reputable law firms will not work with agreements that aren't theirs.
Thus if you really think there is potential for NDA abuse, it probably makes sense to cough up a little equity in return for a big shot law firm to provide its name - and incidentally the words - you're looking for.
The legal agreement have only one purpose to solve:
"It have to be in my favor, legally" for as long as it satisfy the other condition, which is
"They agree to the agreement" which they eventually will..
So, if you meet both conditions, you are happy to Go. It doesn't matter who wrote it, the professionals will only guide you with legal language & terms, which i guess you already got it when you consult other similar documents. But its better to invest later in good legal consultants advice when you have the sufficient funds just to reassure, after all they are into this business for some reasons.
I myself searched & gone through many legal documents & customized them to fulfill my conditions & they are working fine, because most of the clients don't bother to look into as long as you are providing better services to them.
If you want a hair cut you dont go to the butchery,you consult your hairdresser.why now you want to go to the hardware when you want coke to quench your thirst.