Should i charge my client for my NDA legal counsel?

9 replies
Hello,

It's been a couple of years that I'm freelancing. Recently, a client of mine (a company) asked me to sign an NDA agreement.

This is the first time for me, so i don't feel comfortable about signing it without a legal council.

I want to make sure that i won't be limited or hurt by some hidden clauses, therefore from what i heard, is that the legal counsel for "Intellectual Property" can be very expensive.

So my question is, should i charge my client to pay for my legal council ? If yes, hourly or fixed price? And how much in average?



Thank you in advance for the help and guidance you will bring me !
#charge #client #counsel #legal #nda
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    That is a question only you can answer

    al
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  • Profile picture of the author Monetize
    I am pretty sure that if you tell this client of yours that you
    want them to cover your legal fees to have someone review
    their NDA, they are going to hire somebody else. An NDA
    is not that serious. They only want to make sure that you
    do not disclose whatever it is they are hiring you for.
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  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    Originally Posted by kurosaki4d View Post

    It's been a couple of years that I'm freelancing. Recently, a client of mine (a company) asked me to sign an NDA agreement.

    This is the first time for me, so i don't feel comfortable about signing it without a legal council.
    Generally speaking NDA's are pretty much written in pretty straight forward English. The question then would be asked - Could you follow the NDA? IF you outsource any amount of work, the answer would be NO.

    It is also my experience that the need for an NDA is a red flag of sorts ( in a good way ) that the financial potential of the project is probably greater than what you have experienced in the past with this company.

    I am going to suggest that if you feel the need to have an attorney look over the document the expense would be on you. ( its a tax deduction in the end anyways )

    I would also suggest that the expense in un itself is not a business expense per se, but rather an educational one. You could try https://www.justanswer.com/ and speak to a business lawyer for like $5.00
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  • Profile picture of the author DIABL0
    I don't see you asking them to cover legal fees going over very well.

    I would just wait till you get it and see how much legalese is in it. Then decide if you think you need council and cover the cost yourself.
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  • Profile picture of the author Profit Traveler
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    Agree with everything previous. As long as they are not limiting you on the services you provide for others you should be OK.


    Every client is a potential referral for another.
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  • Profile picture of the author Medon
    I feel you don't need to walk that path. Just read the NDA, if it is something you can do just sign and start working. If you feel you cannot deliver don't get there simple.
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  • Profile picture of the author prvegas
    As long as their Non Disclosure Agreement is specific to their specific game plan I have no problem signing. I would never sign an open ended non specific non disclosure statement.
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    • Profile picture of the author kurosaki4d
      Thank you for your input.

      Would you care to elaborate on "open ending", do you mean in terms of the working period? Or did you mean something else ?
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  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    You do not charge them for it. You raise your prices to cover your indirect expenses.



    You normally charge $100 per service and you provide 1000 a year and your legal expenses are $500, you divide $5000 by 1000, so your new price is $105.
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