You just got the job offer you wanted. The excitement makes it tempting to sign immediately. But employment contracts are drafted by the company's lawyers to protect the company — not you. Non-competes can prevent you from working in your field for years.
Plain English summary
Full document condensed into simple language
Risk flags with severity
High, medium, low — with recommendations
Obligations extracted
Financial, performance, reporting, restrictions
Key dates & deadlines
Renewals, notice periods, milestones
Legal glossary
Terms defined in your document's context
Who this is for
Whether you're reviewing your first contract or your hundredth, LegalSimpler gives you the clarity to negotiate from a position of knowledge.
Risks we catch
A 2-year restriction across the entire industry within a 100-mile radius — effectively making you unemployable in your own field.
The employer owns everything you create during employment — including side projects, open source contributions, and personal creative work done on your own time.
Loosely defined triggers like "unsatisfactory performance" let them fire you without severance for almost any subjective reason.
You can't recruit former colleagues or even contact clients you personally brought in — for 1-2 years after leaving.
Vested stock options can be reclaimed if you leave "voluntarily" — even if conditions were made intolerable to force you out.
During the non-compete period you can't work anywhere in your industry, and the company doesn't pay you for that time either.
What people miss
These are the things we see most often — and the ones that cost people the most.
Non-competes are almost always negotiable. Companies include broad ones by default because most people don't push back. Ask for a shorter duration, narrower scope, or garden leave compensation.
If you have a side business, open source contributions, or creative projects, the default IP assignment clause may give your employer ownership of all of it. Get explicit carve-outs in writing before signing.
Stock options sound great until you read the details. A 90-day exercise window means you have just 3 months after leaving to buy your vested options — often at significant cost. Ask for a 7-10 year window during negotiation.
Works with
FAQ
Both, if you have both. The offer letter summarizes key terms, but the full contract contains the detailed clauses (non-compete, IP, termination) that matter most.
Absolutely — that's the point. Use the flagged risks as specific talking points. "I noticed Section 7.2 assigns IP for work done outside office hours — can we scope that to work-related projects?"
We analyze contractor/freelance agreements too. These often have even more aggressive IP and non-compete clauses than employee contracts because contractors have fewer legal protections.
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