Client asking for a NDA - can I buy the ones online or do I need to get a lawyer?

18 replies
Sorry to sound stupid - but this is all a little new to me.

I have landed a project and the guy wants me to provide a NDA. I know what this is, but I am not sure if I just download one from online and change the name and that covers everything or do I need to get a lawyer or solicitor to make one?

I am confident that this is just a mandatory thing to work for them but I haven't been asked for one yet so I just wanted to make sure I am doing this correctly.

When I've been on freelancer sites they have them that you pay $30 for, is there something like this that people can recommend?
#buy #client #lawyer #nda #online #providing
  • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
    If he wants you to sign an NDA, he can provide you with one. Why would he risk having you write the terms? (And if he's too cheap to get a lawyer, tell him to go to LegalZoom.)
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  • Profile picture of the author blackli0n
    Absolutely no need to pay. There are so many free ones out there. If he's too lazy to write it, then you go get one that limits his rights.
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  • Profile picture of the author ktz16
    Absolutely! If your client wants you to sign an NDA then they need to provide the NDA for you to sign.
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  • Profile picture of the author onegoodman
    You can look them up online, but I would agree if he want an NDA, you have the right to ask him to provide you one. The NDA is to protect his privacy which mean he wanted to cover x, y, and z, which make it his duty to come up with one
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  • Profile picture of the author CabaMate
    Thanks everyone.

    I will ask him to provide it and just maybe get a lawyer to run their eyes over it for me, it is all a bit new for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
    Absolutely nothing wrong with getting a lawyer, but that may be overkill. If you have a good comprehension of the English language, you should be able to simply read it carefully and understand the terms yourself. They generally state that he owns everything and that you can't tell anyone anything about the project.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zachary S
    I've dealt with NDAs several times over the past few years. If you want I can overlook yours for free. No lawyer needed.
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  • Profile picture of the author BradVert2013
    I've signed NDAs before, they're no biggie. But I don't think your client understands them very well. It's the client that gives you the NDA to sign because they're usually specific to their business. Tell the client you'd be happy to sign the NDA they provide after you review it.
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  • Profile picture of the author neshaword
    There are affordable paralegals you can find on Upwork or Freelancer. Or, you can simply read your NDA and change a thing here and there. Eventually, it all comes down to a relationship you wanna build with your client. One thing, though. Usually the clients provide the NDAs, not the other way around. If you are providing work for someone then it is a little bit strange for your client to ask an NDA, but actually not to have one ready. Just give it a thought.
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    • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
      Send them a sentence in a PDF.

      'I declare I will not disclose any information to a third party pertaining to work for [name / company name] and will not use or store any information belonging to [same] which does not adhere to the project.

      Electronically sign it (pic of your sig) and date it and ask them to do the same.


      Daniel
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    • Profile picture of the author CabaMate
      Originally Posted by neshaword View Post

      There are affordable paralegals you can find on Upwork or Freelancer. Or, you can simply read your NDA and change a thing here and there. Eventually, it all comes down to a relationship you wanna build with your client. One thing, though. Usually the clients provide the NDAs, not the other way around. If you are providing work for someone then it is a little bit strange for your client to ask an NDA, but actually not to have one ready. Just give it a thought.
      Thanks - yes, I am realising this is the case and I have asked for them to provide it - I need to ensure it is legally binding so I will try and track someone down who knows more about the legal side of things than I do.

      Thanks for your comment
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      • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
        Originally Posted by CabaMate View Post

        I need to ensure it is legally binding....
        Why? If you are going to honor the spirit of the agreement, then it really doesn't matter (to you) if it is binding, and if you aren't, then why spend any energy on this at all?

        i.e., You have nearly nothing to lose by signing this. So do so, fart, and move on already!

        When I occasionally get these things, it takes me more time to print them than it does for me to quickly scan the verbiage (by eye), make sure they didn't insert something silly like, "...and you owe us a million dollars, regardless", and sign the last page as soon as it comes out of the printer.

        You've spend far more time and energy on this one thread alone than it would ever take to read a few pages, understand them at a very basic level, and then sign the dang thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author oneyouki1984
    It depends on the size of the project I would say.

    I'm confused though. He wants YOU to provide a NDA? Typically it works the other way around.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Originally Posted by CabaMate View Post

    Sorry to sound stupid - but this is all a little new to me.

    I have landed a project and the guy wants me to provide a NDA. I know what this is, but I am not sure if I just download one from online and change the name and that covers everything or do I need to get a lawyer or solicitor to make one?

    I am confident that this is just a mandatory thing to work for them but I haven't been asked for one yet so I just wanted to make sure I am doing this correctly.

    When I've been on freelancer sites they have them that you pay $30 for, is there something like this that people can recommend?
    If they are requesting it then they should be supplying it. I've never heard of someone requesting one but not providing it.
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    • Profile picture of the author CabaMate
      Originally Posted by ChrisBa View Post

      If they are requesting it then they should be supplying it. I've never heard of someone requesting one but not providing it.
      Yep, I requested it and they provided one in the end but I also want to check what I am signing.

      I have no problem with NDA's and I have no intention of sharing information etc but I just want to ensure it doesn't sign me up for something I am not expecting.
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      • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
        Originally Posted by CabaMate View Post

        Yep, I requested it and they provided one in the end but I also want to check what I am signing.

        I have no problem with NDA's and I have no intention of sharing information etc but I just want to ensure it doesn't sign me up for something I am not expecting.
        Did you read it?
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris-
    It depends on how much you've got to gain or lose, depending on what happens.

    I'm sure you'd agree that for a deal worth a million bucks, it would be worth spending a little on a lawyer initially. But for a deal worth a handful of dollars, it obviously wouldn't be worth spending a lot more than that to get a lawyer's help.

    So you need to calculate the potential value of the deal, and find out about lawyer fees and make an educated decision.

    Also keep in mind that lawyers often charge you a big fee, for just changing a few words on a standard agreement (real-estate people the same . . . for example for one document they said they'd charge $100, so I got an agreement with the owner to just use the standard document, and they said they'd still charge $100, even though all they ever do for that document is press the "copy" button on a photocopier). So make sure you find out what you're REALLY getting for your money

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    As suggested below you can solved this by sending a statement with a digital signature - you can sign the NDA provided by the client.

    That is probably what the client expected of you. But you didn't realize that.

    You went back (days later?) and asked the client to provide the NDA - and he did.

    Read it - unless it's in a foreign language it shouldn't be that hard to understand what it says. You have gotten good advice from at least 3 people in this thread who are totally familiar with NDA's. It's been 5 days since you started the thread and you are asking the same questions. If I were the client, I'd be having second thoughts about a freelancer delaying an NDA agreement.

    Edit: If you still feel you need a lawyer - then pay for a lawyer's advice. Don't try to get legal advice for free as some would suggest.
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