Hardly anything in today’s economy is cheap, especially not legal help. Contracts, business agreements and other standard legal documents are mandatory to close a business transaction, but getting them drawn up is often a costly proposition.
Docracy is an online repository that offers free contracts and other legal documents, socially curated by the communities that use them. The web app is filled with legal documents from reputable, transparent sources and social proof to help you find something as close as possible to the perfect document. Not just the tax forms and stuff you can find on government sites; these documents are those you might otherwise need to pay a lawyer to make for you.
After the jump, we shall learn how to take advantage of this amazing new app!
Getting Started
The idea is, with the help of Docracy you can end up saving a bunch of money using legal documents that are not so unique in the first place. A contract agreement, a non-compete agreement or a term sheet is going to be similar in most cases.
A few simple tweaks here and there is all that differentiates your version of a contract agreement from one that was created for a company in another city. If you know what you’re doing, a legal document downloaded from Docracy can be customized to fit your terms and saving you some dough in the process.
Exploring Featured Documents
One can get started by searching for the legal documents you need from their list. You don’t have to sign up for an account to do that, either. The featured document section that highlights documents based on what you do are a huge time saver as well. For instance, if you are designer, without having to spend much time on the site, you can jump straight away into the various types of legal documentation available for your line of business.
The well thought through, frills free user interface makes the experience very pleasant. That said, there are two search boxes at the top of the page, one not very far from another. Though they look weird, any one of them can be used to find the document you are looking for.
Examining the Document
Examining a Document
Anyone can upload or write a new document. In the documents I examined, the vital parts (name, business name, fees, hourly rate and the like) are perfectly highlighted. You can’t miss them at all and editing those parts will make the legal document customized to your needs.
Editing Documents
You can edit and improve existing documents, either for the community or just for yourself. Documents are private by default: only you can see and edit them. That way, you can edit a template document right in the web app to fit your needs. If you make the changes public, only you, as the owner, will be able to edit them. However, if they are public, other people will be able to make a copy for themselves that they can then edit.
Is this the Right Legal Document?
That’s one question that folks at Docracy can’t help you with. And, it’s actually very understandable, as there are a variety of legal documents out there and the ones that you or your business needs is something that you’ll have to research on your own. There is a very helpful feature, though, that helps you request the help of a lawyer with the document.
The Community
If you don’t want to contact a lawyer at all, take advantage of the comments section. The community at Docracy is active and you might actually end up getting your doubts cleared. Remember though, you’ll have to use your own judgment when it comes to picking the right set of legal documents.
Security and Legality
All documents are encrypted and you don’t have to worry about the safety of them. And the key part of the equation, the the electronic signatures, are all good as well. Whether you decide to type your signature or draw it, your contract is executed the moment both signatures are appended, with a timestamp automatically added to the online document and the PDF copy. It’s everything you need, in one app, to go from a template contract to one with the info you need signed by everyone you need to sign it within minutes.
Final Thoughts
Docracy team is on a great mission and they have done an excellent job in backing up a smart idea with brilliant implementation. The clean design and ease with which users can quickly discover documents are worth a mention. Another aspect that works in favor of Docracy is the legitimacy of the legal documents.
The featured users section is filled with the names of renowned tech incubators, accelerators and law offices. You can access the legal documents created and used by these brands in a single click. It’s a great confidence building measure and I just hope more big names join this worthy cause in the near future!
It would be great if the Docracy team could come up with ways to discover the right legal documents, with certainty. It could either be industry specific or location specific, but a clearly compiled list of mandatory legal documents for a variety of purposes would make Docracy more potent.