5 Questions to Ask Before You Sign Any Contract (From a Lawyer Who’s Seen the Aftermath)
You’ve read it twice. Something still feels off. You can’t name it — but you’re not ready to sign.
That instinct has saved more clients than I can count.
After 10 years practising law and watching SMEs sign agreements that cost them dearly, I’ve noticed a pattern: the contracts that cause the most damage aren’t the ones people ignore — they’re the ones people almost checked.
Here are the five questions I ask before I recommend anyone sign anything.
1. What happens if I want to leave?
Every contract should have a clear exit path. Look for: notice periods, termination fees, and auto-renewal clauses. If leaving costs more than staying, you’re in a lock-in trap. Check: is there a termination for convenience clause, or only termination for cause?
2. What is my liability if something goes wrong?
Liability caps protect you. Unlimited liability exposes everything. Before you sign, find the indemnification clause and the limitation of liability clause. Ask: is my exposure proportional to the value of this deal? If the contract value is $5,000 but you’re indemnifying against unlimited damages — that’s a problem.
3. Who owns the work, the data, and the relationship?
This matters most for: service contracts, freelance agreements, SaaS subscriptions, and any deal involving your customer data. IP ownership and data residency clauses can quietly transfer your most valuable assets. Don’t let them.
4. What law governs this — and where do disputes go?
A contract signed in Quebec, governed by New York law, with arbitration in London? You can win the dispute and still lose — because enforcing it is prohibitively expensive. Jurisdiction and governing law clauses should be reasonable for both parties.
5. What does the other party not have to do?
Exclusion and carve-out clauses are where obligations disappear. The vendor doesn’t have to meet SLAs if… The landlord isn’t responsible for… The supplier can delay if… These clauses are the fine print inside the fine print.
Transition: The hard truth is that reading a contract carefully still isn’t enough if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Most SME founders aren’t lawyers — and they shouldn’t have to be.
That’s why we built EqualDocs: an AI contract copilot that flags exactly these issues in under a minute. You paste in the contract, and it highlights the clauses that deserve your attention — in plain language, not legalese.
No credit card. Free to start.
Try it before your next signature: equaldocs.com
Ningsi Mei is a lawyer and co-founder of EqualDocs, an AI-powered contract platform for SMEs. She writes about practical legal risk for founders and small business owners.
