legal-templates README

The project's README from github.com/General-Legal/legal-templates. As one markdown file: README.md.

Legal Templates

Attorney-drafted legal templates for startups and technology companies. Created by the attorneys at General Legal and released under CC0 1.0. Free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute for any purpose, without attribution.

These templates are provided in LLM-optimized markdown and original .docx formats. Highlighted text (marked with <mark> tags in the markdown files) indicates fields that should be customized for your use.

Attribution

These templates include a General Legal credit footnote. The templates are released under CC0 1.0 Universal, so retaining that footnote isn't a legal requirement, but we ask that you keep it in place when reproducing or adapting these documents.

Templates

Template Description
Advisor Agreement Advisor agreement covering advisory services, equity compensation, IP assignment, and confidentiality
Business Associate Agreement (BAA) HIPAA-required contract between covered entities and business associates that handle protected health information
Cookie Notice Disclosure of cookie and tracking technology practices for websites and apps
Data Processing Addendum (U.S.) Processor-friendly DPA for U.S. personal data with security measures and state-privacy-law compliance
Data Processing Addendum (Global) Processor-friendly DPA for U.S., EU/EEA, UK, and Switzerland with GDPR-aligned obligations
Employee Offer Letter (California Exempt) Offer letter for California exempt hires covering compensation, exempt-employee policies, and arbitration
Master Services Agreement (MSA) Tech-oriented MSA for companies deploying software and providing platform or integration services
Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement Two-way confidentiality agreement for parties sharing sensitive information while exploring a business relationship
One-Way Non-Disclosure Agreement One-way confidentiality agreement protecting a single disclosing party's information
Privacy Policy (U.S. Only) Privacy policy covering U.S. federal and state privacy laws including CCPA/CPRA
Privacy Policy (GDPR Enhanced) Multi-jurisdictional privacy policy covering both U.S. state laws and GDPR/UK GDPR
Terms of Use Website terms of use covering access rights, IP protections, liability limits, and dispute resolution

Repository Structure

legal-templates/
  templates/                  # One directory per template
    advisor-agreement/
    business-associate-agreement/
      README.md               # Template overview, use cases, and key provisions
      template.md             # Full template text in LLM-optimized markdown
    cookie-notice/
    dpa-global/
    dpa-us/
    employee-offer-letter/
    master-services-agreement/
    mutual-nda/
    one-way-nda/
    privacy-policy-gdpr/
    privacy-policy-us/
    terms-of-use/
  docx-originals/             # Original .docx source files
  scripts/
    fetch_templates.py        # Downloads .docx files from general.legal/resources/library
    convert_docx.py           # Converts .docx originals to markdown
  LICENSE                     # CC0 1.0 Universal

legal-templates (General-Legal/legal-templates)

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Legal-templates
What is this?A free collection of attorney-drafted legal templates for startups and tech companies, covering contracts like NDAs, MSAs, privacy policies, and offer letters.
Is this a legal document library or a software tool?It's a document repository, not software. Templates are provided as markdown files (LLM-optimized) and original .docx files you download and fill in.
How do I use one of these templates?Pick the template you need from the repository, open the .docx or markdown file, and fill in the highlighted fields marked for customization.
Do I have to credit General Legal when I use a template?No, attribution isn't legally required under CC0, but the repo asks you to keep the General Legal credit footnote in place anyway.
Are there templates for GDPR or CCPA compliance?Yes, there are dedicated Data Processing Addendums and Privacy Policies for both U.S. law (CCPA/CPRA) and GDPR/UK GDPR, plus a global DPA covering the U.S., EU/EEA, UK, and Switzerland.
What kinds of templates are included?Twelve templates covering advisor agreements, a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement, cookie notices, two DPA variants, a California exempt offer letter, an MSA, mutual and one-way NDAs, two privacy policy variants, and terms of use.
Is there a template for handling healthcare data?Yes, a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) template is included for the HIPAA-required contract between covered entities and business associates handling protected health information.
Why are the templates in markdown as well as Word format?The markdown versions are described as LLM-optimized, making them easier to parse, edit, or feed into AI tools, while the .docx files serve as the original, ready-to-edit format.
What are similar projects?transition-state-zero-trust-toolkit, software-certificate-skill, SoftwareCopyright-Skill, everything, chinese-buy-us-stock-guide, paper-docx, architecture-decision-record, ppt-master
Which topics is it in?gdpr, legal-tech, word, business, docx, compliance, office, document, templates, english, template, documentation
Creator
General-Legal
Size
0.9 MB
Stars
3.1K
Updated
CommitSep 22
Age
5mo
Commits · 90 Days