The contracts ecosystem has long been a copy-and-paste hellscape, but in the past couple of years we’ve seen organizations that aim to promote standard forms of contracts.
Contracts would work better if for basic transactions we all used the same basic forms. Many of us succumb to the legalistic urge to throw in more provisions. Perhaps we’re risk averse; perhaps we want to prove to our clients or to our bosses that we’re adding value. Either way, the result is a drag on the contract process. Sticking with the basics would spare everyone that waste of time and money.
And if different companies were to use the same standard form for a given kind of transaction, that would save everyone much of the time spent reviewing bespoke contracts sent by the other side.
So the idea of standard contracts has considerable merit. But that’s not what we’re doing. Hence our tagline: The Unstandard.
Instead, we offer highly customizable document-assembly templates. If you want to create a contract that fits your needs and we offer a template for that kind of contract, we would invite you complete our interview. That would involve consulting the guidance and choosing from among the options offered.
For a high-value contract, you might answer the full version of the questionnaire. Think of it as custom tailoring, but way less expensive! For basic transactions, you might complete one of the other versions of the questionnaire, one that has many answers already selected in a way that’s suited to a basic transaction. Your task would be limited to changing whatever answers don’t meet your needs.
But nothing about that involves promoting standard contracts. The contracts ecosystem is a vast swampland. We believe that making it more broadly habitable requires a broader initiative than promulgating standard contracts.
