Boilerplate non-compete clause cost me 3 months of work

I was reviewing a freelance contract for a web dev gig in Austin and almost signed it without reading the fine print. Buried in the middle was a non-compete that said I couldn't work for any competitor in a 50 mile radius for 2 years after the project ended. At first I thought it wasn't a big deal, but then I realized that basically covers the whole city and I'd have to turn down half my usual clients. I spent hours talking to a lawyer and negotiating the wording down, and the whole process took 3 months before I could even start the job. Has anyone else run into these super broad non-competes that feel like they're trying to lock you out of your own career? How did you push back on the wording without losing the contract?

3 comments

3 Comments

xena_hernandez982d ago

Ha, nothing says "I value my independence" like needing a lawyer just to read a contract. That sounds like a REAL fun way to spend a quarter of a year.

kevin_williams2d agoTop Commenter

Haha "needing a lawyer just to read a contract" is exactly it. Last year I signed up for some "free" trial that turned into a $200 monthly charge after I missed a tiny cancel window. I literally had to get a lawyer friend to look over their terms to find how to break it without paying. A whole 3 months of back and forth just to get out of it. It's like companies hide all the ugly stuff in the fine print on purpose.

the_sage2d ago

@kevin_williams nailed it, read something similar about how these clauses trap devs in like a weird work prison lol