Customizing Your Agreements

The Plainly Legal™ Agreement Generator aims to make it simple for you to create customized legal agreements with the confidence of knowing that they are legally solid. Our system will add all the necessary legalese; the only thing you have to do is add the language that is custom to your particular business and/or offer.

That being said, we know that editing a legal agreement can be daunting, so we've prepared this article to help you customize your agreements with confidence. This guidance is intended for answering the fill-in-the-blank questions and when you arrive at the editing screen and want to make further customizations.

Use Plain English

We do not expect you to add any legalese; Plainly Legal™ has already added that for you. Your role is to fill in information about your business, the offer, and other details. In doing so, use plain English. No need to try to sound legalistic (i.e., no need to use words like "such" or "wherefore").

As a general rule, the simpler the language, the better! Your goal should be to add language that is easily understood.

Make Sure Your Addition Flows

As you answer the fill-in-the-blank questions, be careful to ensure that your answer will flow in the document's structure. Plainly Legal™ makes it easy for you to do so because as you type your answer in the left panel, you'll see the text added to the document on the right:

We built the software this way to make it simple to double-check that you are providing an answer in the right format.

Beware of Non-Specific Pronouns and References

As you customize your agreements, be careful to avoid pronouns and/or references that could be confusing. In everyday conversation, we often structure our sentences in ways that make it less than 100% clear what we are saying. Words like "this," "that," and pronouns that refer back to an earlier reference are the culprits.

In normal conversation, the lack of 100% clarity is not a big deal; in legal agreements, lack of clarity is a big deal. Your goal should be to write agreements that are 100% clear to avoid disputes later.

With that in mind, while we suggest using plain English for your additions, be careful to avoid confusion.

The best way to avoid confusion in the language you use in your agreements is to use precise language and restate the subject rather than using references that include words like "this" or "that."

Be As Specific As Possible

Beyond using precise language, the most important step to avoid confusion (and thus disputes) is to be as specific as possible in the language you add.

This guidance is most relevant where you set out things like the scope of service, show-your-work refund policies, and payment deadlines. The goal is to draft these sections so that anyone can review the language and easily decide whether it has been met.

In setting out the scope of work for a project, set out specific tasks that will be completed (or goals that will be achieved) rather than general objectives.

For example, instead of saying you will "provide social media management services," spell out specifically what that means. This would likely include a list of how many posts you will create per week, how much time you will spend monitoring your client's account, and how much time you will spend engaging with responses to the posts.

Similarly, if you opt for a show-your-work refund policy for an online course, you should not use generic language about customers making a good-faith effort or any other similarly vague standards. Instead, set out exactly what they have to do and what they have to submit. For example, you might say they must have watched all the videos in Module 1, attended a specific number of Q&A sessions, and completed a specific list of homework sheets you provided.

When it comes to drafting agreements, specificity is your friend.