This is definitely missing a lot of protections for both sides.
An interesting story.
I have a standard contract I usually use with startups etc. that is written to be fair to both parties and vetted by multiple attorneys. One that I worked with insisted that I use theirs. When I went through it, it was clear that they took it from a template and there were numerous holes in it that I pushed back on. They stated that all of their other contractors used it successfully and I replied that these people must not have read the contract.
It was at that point that I pointed out that the jurisdiction, "Orange County Georgia" does not exist (they had obviously copied it from a California template or contract) among other things. Against my better judgement I re-wrote their contract and used it. They ended up being a major pain in the ass client that was really bad at basic communication. IE: would not answer direct questions in writing with yes or no answers.
Contract negotiations are often a sign of things to come with the rest of the engagement.
>> Contract negotiations are often a sign of things to come with the rest of the engagement
I'd qualify this with "if the person(s) you will be work with are the sticklers for the contract."
Often contracting is just a line item for the manager that wants to get going and the legal rep is the one causing the delays. When this is the case I don't find the experience with the legal team has much bearing on the experience actually doing the work.
At my former (software) company (I was the GC), on a couple of occasions we were the customer and were presented with problematic license agreements by vendors. Instead of trying to do a lot of revision of the vendors' contracts, I proposed that we just use our standard license agreement, but with us as the customer instead of as the vendor. Each time, the other vendor looked at our agreement and quickly agreed.
An interesting story.
I have a standard contract I usually use with startups etc. that is written to be fair to both parties and vetted by multiple attorneys. One that I worked with insisted that I use theirs. When I went through it, it was clear that they took it from a template and there were numerous holes in it that I pushed back on. They stated that all of their other contractors used it successfully and I replied that these people must not have read the contract.
It was at that point that I pointed out that the jurisdiction, "Orange County Georgia" does not exist (they had obviously copied it from a California template or contract) among other things. Against my better judgement I re-wrote their contract and used it. They ended up being a major pain in the ass client that was really bad at basic communication. IE: would not answer direct questions in writing with yes or no answers.
Contract negotiations are often a sign of things to come with the rest of the engagement.