Contracts drafted and reviewed for US law, state by state, by qualified attorneys. From Delaware corporate standards to California’s non-compete ban, your contract is built for the state that governs it. Fixed fees, standard contracts in 24 to 48 hours.
Tell us about your contract, the counterparty, and which state’s law governs it. A qualified attorney assesses it and responds with a precise quote and timeline. No obligation, no automated replies.
Standard contracts drafted in 24 to 48 hours. Complex multi-state work in 3 to 5 days.
There is no single “US contract law.” Contracts in the United States are governed largely at the state level, and the differences are not cosmetic. A non-compete that is fully enforceable in Florida is void in California. A liability cap drafted for New York may read differently under Texas law. The sale of goods follows the Uniform Commercial Code, adopted with variations in every state, while services follow state common law. Getting the governing-law and jurisdiction clauses right is often the most consequential decision in the entire document.
That is why a US contract cannot be a generic template with the state name dropped in. It has to be drafted for the law that actually applies. My Legal Pal drafts and reviews contracts across all 50 states, for startups, founders, businesses, and freelancers, by attorneys who build the state-specific realities in from the start rather than bolting them onto a one-size draft.
Whether you need an NDA for an investor pitch, a master service agreement for an enterprise client, a SaaS subscription agreement, an independent contractor agreement, a SAFE for a funding round, or a full contract drafting engagement, the document is built for your specific deal and your specific state. Fixed fees, no billable hours.
The reason US contracts go wrong is almost always that the drafter treated the country as one jurisdiction. Here is where that assumption costs you.
California voids nearly all post-employment non-competes by statute, and Minnesota and North Dakota largely follow. Florida and Texas enforce them if reasonable in time, geography, and scope. The FTC’s attempt at a nationwide ban has been contested in court, so state law remains what governs. A non-compete copied from a Florida contract into a California hire is simply unenforceable, and worse, can expose you.
More than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware, and its Court of Chancery and settled case law make it the standard choice of law for shareholders’ agreements, SAFEs, and investor documents, even when the company operates elsewhere. Drafting these under Delaware law is what investors expect to see.
Sales of goods fall under the Uniform Commercial Code, adopted with state-by-state variations. Services fall under each state’s common law. Mixed contracts, common in SaaS and hardware-plus-software deals, need the predominant-purpose analysis handled correctly or the wrong body of law applies.
US employment is at-will by default, but Montana is the exception, and many states recognise public-policy and implied-contract exceptions. Employment and contractor agreements have to be drafted to the state, and worker-classification rules, especially California’s ABC test, decide whether your contractor is actually an employee.
With the CCPA and CPRA in California and a growing list of state privacy laws, a data processing addendum written for one state may not satisfy another. We draft to the states your users are actually in.
From brief to final draft, with attorney review at every stage.
A structured conversation about your deal, counterparty, and which state’s law governs.
Drafted by a qualified lawyer with experience in this contract type and the governing state.
A second review for legal accuracy, commercial fit, and enforceability under state law.
A plain-language walkthrough of the key clauses and where negotiation is likely.
Adjusted until the contract reflects exactly what you need.
Final draft ready for signing. Negotiation support available.
What it covers, the typical timeline, and the US-specific points we build in.
Mutual or unilateral, for investor pitches, vendor diligence, or hiring. Drafted with a governing-law clause matched to your state. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
For B2B services. Scope, liability caps, IP ownership, and termination, drafted to the state’s common law rather than the UCC. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Governance, transfer restrictions, drag-along and tag-along, usually under Delaware law. Typically 3 to 5 days.
Y Combinator-style SAFEs and convertible notes with valuation cap and discount, drafted the way US investors expect. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
1099 contractor agreements with proper work-for-hire and IP assignment, drafted to survive state worker-classification tests like California’s ABC test. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
At-will employment agreements with confidentiality and IP assignment, and restrictive covenants scoped to what the state actually enforces. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Subscription terms, SLAs, data handling, and limitation of liability, with the predominant-purpose analysis handled for mixed goods-and-services deals. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
DPAs drafted for the CCPA and CPRA and the growing list of state privacy laws, for the states your users are actually in. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Present-tense assignment of IP from founders, employees, and contractors, the document US investors check first in diligence. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Multi-party governance, contribution, and exit terms, with governing law chosen deliberately across the parties’ states. Typically 3 to 5 days.
Territory, exclusivity, and termination for US channel deals, with state franchise-law traps flagged before you sign. Typically 3 to 5 days.
Received a counterparty’s draft? We review it against your state’s law, flag the risks in tracked changes, and tell you what you would actually be signing. Reviewed in 24 to 48 hours.
Fixed fees, agreed before any work begins. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices, a fraction of what a US firm charges at $300 to $600 an hour.
NDAs, independent contractor agreements, and straightforward service agreements. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Master service agreements, employment agreements, SaaS terms, and data processing addenda. Delivered in 24 to 48 hours.
Shareholders’ agreements, SAFEs, joint ventures, and multi-state contracts. Typically 3 to 5 days.
Every fee includes drafting, internal review, revisions until you are satisfied, and a plain-language summary. See our guide to what contract review actually costs for how this compares to hourly US rates.
The clauses most often wrong in template contracts. Tap to expand each.
“Neither party shall be liable for any damages.” Often unenforceable.
A cap tied to fees paid, with carve-outs for IP infringement, confidentiality breach, and indemnities, drafted to your state’s standard.
We work with businesses and founders nationwide, entirely online. Our clients are concentrated in the country’s startup and business hubs: New York, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Austin, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Miami, and beyond. If you are in Texas, we have a dedicated page for the state’s specific rules. Wherever you are, the contract is drafted to the law that governs your deal, not to where we sit.
More of what we do for US businesses and founders.
Our core drafting practice, worldwide.
We review a counterparty’s draft before you sign.
Support through the redline exchange.
State-specific contract help for Texas.
Independent contractor agreements explained.
The contracts a US SaaS company needs.
Why it is the document investors check first.
How a missing cap can sink a startup.
Ongoing contract support on a fixed monthly fee.
By qualified attorneys, on fixed fees from $99. Standard contracts in 24 to 48 hours, complex work in 3 to 5 days. No hourly billing, no surprises.
