Shake: Create a Contract on Your Phone

Because of the limits of time and space, I can’t help all the freelancers who come to me needing a contract. But I hate turning people away without other options, so a while ago I started searching out low cost, quality alternatives for creating contracts for freelance work.

One of the resources I found and was impressed with is Shake, a contract drafting application for iOS and Android. The mission of the company is to make the law accessible, understandable and affordable for everyone, so off the bat I have to admit I was biased toward liking these folks (bonus: they have an office bulldog). shake_logo_vert_tagline_white

But I was really impressed when I saw the types of contracts you could make with the application (for free). These weren’t run-of-the-mill boilerplates. These were thoughtful documents crafted with freelancers and small businesses in mind.

Vinay Jain is Shake’s Chief Legal Officer and was kind enough to talk with me about the application. I told him I wanted my readers to understand how to use Shake should the need arise and he agreed to walk me through the process of putting together a non-disclosure agreement (It took about 3 minutes).

We also talked about the legality of the contracts Shake creates (100%), interesting ways people are using Shake, and a bundle of contracts the company has created for specifically for film and television.

If you can’t afford an attorney, but you don’t want to go without a contract, I think Shake is one of the better tools out there. I encourage you to check it out.

And because I don’t usually give businesses so much space on the blog, it’s important for me to say that I did not receive any compensation for this post; I genuinely wanted to write about the application and how it can be used to support a creative career. Shake was a sponsor of an event I helped organize, but this post is not the result of that support.

Categories: Contract Hacks

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4 responses to “Shake: Create a Contract on Your Phone”

  1. LexPdx says:

    Great! Way to cut your own throat by devaluing the legal profession. It is not tough enough to make a living that you have to pimp this app?

    • Katie Lane says:

      Lex,

      I’m sorry you took that away from the post. I value the legal profession and am proud of the work I do. It’s why I don’t see Shake as a threat to my business. The value I provide clients is fundamentally different from what a template contract provides and sometimes people just don’t need or can’t afford what I have to offer. I’d rather those folks are aware of tools that can help them do what they need than go without.

      Best,
      Katie

    • Phillip says:

      I am a DIY guy who seeks to do all I can do myself, for myself. I always look for cost effective ways to efficiently start and run my business and when I meet an Attorney who provides me a cost effective way of dealing with a legal issue or contract where we can leave the actual Attorney fees for the more difficult and complicated issues, shows much integrity by Katie Lang as well as she is not going to take advantage of me or other clients.

  2. Michael says:

    This is one of the most useful small business app I’ve come across!

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