forked from legalese/legalese.github.io
-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
/
Copy pathgeneralinfo.html
261 lines (178 loc) · 16.3 KB
/
generalinfo.html
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset='utf-8'>
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="chrome=1">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1">
<link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Architects+Daughter' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheets/stylesheet.css" media="screen">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheets/pygment_trac.css" media="screen">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheets/print.css" media="print">
<!--[if lt IE 9]>
<script src="//html5shiv.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/html5.js"></script>
<![endif]-->
<title>General Info</title>
<script>
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');
ga('create', 'UA-63573011-4', 'auto');
ga('send', 'pageview');
</script>
</head>
<body>
<header>
<div class="inner">
<h1>Legalese 2.0</h1>
<h2>Software is eating law.</h2>
<a href="https://github.com/legalese/" class="button"><small>View project on</small> GitHub</a>
</div>
</header>
<div class="menu-wrap">
<nav class="menu">
<ul class="clearfix">
<li><a href="index.html">Home</a></li>
<li>
<a target="_blank" href="tutorials.html">Tutorials <span class="arrow">▼</span></a>
<ul class="sub-menu">
<li> <a href="tutorials.html#t1">the EULA</a></li>
<li> <a href="tutorials.html#t2">Hello, World!</a></li>
<li> <a href="tutorials.html#t3">Send for Signature!</a></li>
<li> <a href="tutorials.html#t4">A Real Nondisclosure Agreement</a></li>
<li> <a href="tutorials.html#t5">What Docsets Are Available?</a></li>
<li> <a href="tutorials.html#t6">Generating Multiple Documents – Incorporation</a></li>
<li> <a href="tutorials.html#t7">Developing Your Own Templates</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="generalinfo.html">General Info</a></li>
<li><a href="help.html">Help</a></li>
<li><a href="turing.html">Turing-Complete Contracts</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>
</div>
<div id="content-wrapper">
<div class="inner clearfix">
<section id="main-content">
<h1>General Info</h1>
<ol>
<li> <a href="#userguide">User Guide</a>
<p>Quickstart guide. Important concepts. FAQ.</p></li>
<li> <a href="#workflowspapers">Workflows & Papers</a>
<p>A brief description of the output we seek to achieve.</p></li>
<li> <a href="#bizdev">Content Contributor Guide</a>
<p>For power users and legal professionals who want to tweak templates and fork new ones.</p></li>
<li> <a href="#techdev">Technical Developer Guide</a>
<p>For software developers to work on the source code of Legalese itself.</p></li>
<li> <a href="turing.html">The Theory of Turing-Complete Contracts</a>
<p>Template automation is just the beginning. Why not compile contracts from JavaScript to English? That's Legalese 3.0.</p></li>
</ol>
<h1 id="userguide">User Guide</h1>
<p>Legalese 2.0 helps non-lawyers discover and execute the appropriate legal paperwork, by filling in
spreadsheets, generating PDFs, and sending them out for signature.</p>
<p>You will need a Google Apps account. If you use <a href="https://docs.google.com/">Google Docs</a> or <a href="https://drive.google.com/">Google Drive</a>, you already have one.</p>
<p>If you want to send papers out for e-signature, you will need
an <a href="https://www.echosign.adobe.com">Adobe EchoSign</a> account. You can start with a trial. If you
don't want to use EchoSign, you can just circulate the PDFs by email, and remind your recipients
that <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/02/15/how-to-use-preview-to-put-signatures-on-pdfs-pages-documents-and-mail-messages/">Preview
can create e-signatures</a>. In future we may add support for <a href="http://fitsmallbusiness.com/best-electronic-signature-software/">other signing services</a>.</p>
<h3>FAQ</h3>
<p>These workflows, the first few to be published, are designed to support incorporation and early-stage fundraising. In future we may add more workflows to support other scenarios. Note that each paper may be customized for a different legal jurisdiciction – US, EU, UK, SG, IN. Not all papers support all jurisdictions yet.</p>
<h3>The Spreadsheet</h3>
<p>At the heart of each step is a Google Docs spreadsheet. If you haven't already run Tutorial 2, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rBuKOWSqRE7QgKgF6uVWR9www4LoLho4UjOCHPQplhw/copy?id=1rBuKOWSqRE7QgKgF6uVWR9www4LoLho4UjOCHPQplhw©Collaborators=false©Comments=false&title=Legalese%20Tutorial%202&usp=sheets_web">copy a sample spreadsheet</a> to your Google Drive.</p>
<p>A Legalese spreadsheet contains information about your company and the parties it deals with, usually under the Entities tab. That's where you inscribe the particulars about founders, investors, employees, volunteers, etc.</p>
<p>Each tab in the spreadsheet produces one or more documents – a <em>docset</em>.</p>
<p>The templates are filled based on the information in the spreadsheet.</p>
<p>You should be able to fill in the <i>Terms</i> section of the spreadsheet on your own.</p>
<p>If you don't have all the particulars of each party, you can interrogate them directly, or Legalese can create a form from the spreadsheet, and you can just ask the parties to fill in the form with their details.</p>
<p>The spreadsheet is configured at the bottom of the README sheet.</p>
<h3>Generating Papers</h3>
<p>Once all the parties are fleshed out, and the terms are correct, click <i>Legalese / Generate Papers</i>.
It'll grind away for a few minutes, then the templates will fill in, and you'll see a Google Docs draft of
each resulting paper. That draft is editable, but not beautiful. You should see a beautiful version – a PDF
generated by Adobe InDesign. This is done over the cloud, because most end-users don't have Indesign
installed.</p>
<p>What about a Word version? That's a premium feature. If there's enough crowdfunding demand for that
feature, we'll add it.</p>
<h3>Sending out for Signature</h3>
<p>When you're happy with the document, hit <i>Legalese / Send to EchoSign</i>. You'll need an EchoSign
account, of course. The system will prompt you to sign in to EchoSign using OAuth.</p>
<h1 id="workflowspapers">Workflows and Papers</h1>
<p>Legalese aims to provide end-to-end support for getting a startup through every major state transition. <i>This section is still under construction. They are filling in fast.</i></p>
<p><b>Incorporation:</b> <i>Articles of Incorporation</i>. <i>Constitutional Documents</i>. <i>Memorandum of Association</i>. <i>Articles of Association.</i> <i>First Directors' Resolutions.</i> <i>Founder Vesting Schedule.</i> <i>ESOP Reservation.</i></p>
<p><b>Raising Early-Stage Investment:</b> Learn from <a href="http://www.feld.com/archives/2005/08/term-sheet-series-wrap-up.html">Brad Feld's blog</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist-ebook/dp/B00AO2PWOI/">book</a>, also <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Term-Sheets-Valuations-Intricacies-Valutions-ebook/dp/B003XYERWM/">Wilmerding's <i>Term Sheets & Valuations</i></a>. The negotiation starts with a <i>Term Sheet</i>. For friends-and-family rounds, <i>Common Stock / Ordinary Shares Subscription Agreement</i> is usually sufficient. For seed rounds involving professional angels, <i>Convertible Note</i>, <a href="http://500.co/kiss">KISS</a>, or <a href="http://www.ycombinator.com/documents/">SAFE</a> agreements are usually used. These documents originated in the US. In other jurisdictions they need to be adapted. For example, Series Seed in <a href="http://www.seriesseed.fi/">Finland</a> and <a href="http://seriesseed.in/">India</a>.
<p>Alongside the main investment agreement, you'll need a bunch of other paperwork: <i>Shareholder Agreement</i>. <i>Investor Rights Agreement</i>. <i>Directors' Resolutions Proposing Issue of New Securities</i>. <i>Members' Resolutions Authorising Issue of New Securities</i>. <i>Pre-Emptive Rights Notice to Shareholders</i>. <a href="https://vcexperts.com/buzz_articles/1384">How binding are term sheets, anyway?</a></p>
<p><b>Employment:</b> <i>Volunteer Agreement</i>. <a href="/templates/jfdi.asia/employment-agreement.xml">Employment Agreement</a>. <i>Vesting Agreement</i>. <i>ESOP Agreement</i>. <i>Termination</i>. </p>
<p><b>Doing Business:</b> <i>Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA)</i>. <i>Product Contract</i>. <i>Service Contract</i>. </p>
<p><b>Termination:</b> <i>Striking Off</i>. <i>Winding Up</i>. </p>
<p><b>Other Guides:</b> In future we may add support for other workflows. If you can't wait, <a href="#devguide">add your own</a>!</p>
<h1>Products & Services</h1>
<p>The source code is opensource. The legal agreements are Creative Commons. To keep the lights on, we offer commercial services.</p>
<p>All our services are either</p>
<ol>
<li><b>outsourced secretarial</b>,</li>
<li><b>information</b>, or</li>
<li><b>business advisory</b> services.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Outsourced secretarial services</h2>
<p>Obtaining the particulars of parties and filling in the blanks of an agreement; typesetting those legal agreements to look good on the page; and sending completed agreements out to third-party e-signature services for execution.</p>
<ol>
<li> <a href="services.html#obtain_particulars">Obtaining Particulars: $200</a>
<p>We look up the identifying particulars for your counterparties. It's easiest for you to just ask them, but if you're too shy to ask, we will use public sources to look up the bits of company information that are needed in a contract – the company registration number, full name, and official address.</p>
<li> <a href="services.html#basic_cap">Construction of Basic Cap Table: $700</a>
<p>We construct a cap table in Google Spreadsheets to represent your existing investment structure. We review any paper that exists between the company, the founders, and any investors. <b>Deliverable:</b> A cap table showing a snapshot of your company, using our Google Spreadsheets format. <b>Suitable for:</b> startups about to raise seed or Series A funds, if they have ever taken funding from any third parties, including friends and family. If only the founders own shares, and the company has not set up a vesting schedule or an option pool, then this is not necessary.</p></li>
<li> <a href="services.html#advanced_cap">Construction of Advanced Cap Table: $1,000 (includes Basic)</a>
<p>In addition to constructing your cap table in Google Spreadsheets, we also build it in any one third party tool of your choice, e.g. Valuative or captable.io. These third party tools let you model your exits across a range of scenarios.</p></li>
<li> <a href="services.html#esignature">Insertion Into E-Signature Service</a>
<p>When you've reviewed the documents Legalese produces, we will insert the documents into an e-signature backend and send them out for signature.</p>
</ol>
<h2>Information services</h2>
<p>Educational in nature. We offer generic facts and opinions on a range of subjects. For example, we identify the major statutes and regulations which may be relevant to people seeking financing, starting a company, or wondering about tax incentives.</p>
<p>This stuff is mostly free and sprinkled throughout this website.</p>
<h2>Business advisory services</h2>
<p>includes learning about your situation, explaining market conventions, discussing what other people in your situation did, and exploring terms and conditions likely to be accepted by a counterparty.</p>
<ol>
<li> <a href="services.html#cap_table_opinion#">Opinion on Cap Table: $400</a>
<p>We offer a one-page opinion about how your cap table compares to other startups at approximately the same level of maturity.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>We do not offer legal advice</h2>
<p>We <b>do not</b> tell you how to interpret legislation, what the terms of art mean, or how to apply the law to your specific situation. If you have questions about legal terms, or about any clauses beyond the core commercial terms of the agreements, or are contemplating a conflict or compliance situation, you should consult a lawyer with experience in your domain.</p>
<h1 id="devguide">Developer Guide</h1>
<h3>Examples for Developers</h3>
<p>These examples walk you through:</p>
<ul>
<li><i>adding a new multi-function templates to Legalese.</i></li>
<li><i>customizing an existing template.</i></li>
</ul>
<h3>Concepts</h3>
<p>A <b>workflow</b> involves one or more <b>steps</b>.</p>
<p>Each step involves one or more <b>papers</b>. (A paper is a document, an agreement, a deed, or some other
boilerplate.)</p>
<p>Each paper involves zero or more <b>parties</b>. Each party is asked for <b>signature</b>.</p>
<p>Each paper is based on a <b>template</b>. Often, more than one template may be available and appropriate to
your situation. Our template matrix compares alternative templates so you can hazard an educated guess.
Following the vaguely passive-aggressive philosophy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_mechanism_and_policy">"mechanism, not policy"</a>, we helpfully fill every
template that might possibly suit your needs, leaving you to decide which one is actually most
appropriate. Lawyers can breathe a sigh of relief here – your opinions are still valued!</p>
<h3>Developer Technical Reference</h3>
<p>In Legalese XML, any element with an <code>hhref</code> attribute will be converted to a hyperlink. We do not use <code>href</code> because that has a special meaning to InDesign. This is a common gotcha and needs to be put in the linter.</p>
<h3>Technical Feature Wishlist</h3>
<p>Move the wishlist to an actual feature management system.</p>
<p>In v3.0, implement hoisting of definitions as per request by Alexis 20150611010200.</p>
<p>Associated request: linting of dangling pointers, etc -- Capitalized Phrases that aren't defined.</p>
<h1 id="theory">The Theory of Turing-Complete Contracts</a></h1>
<p>Just over the horizon is a shining vision: contracts defined in a formal language, compiled to legalese in one or more natural languages, each translation being provably identical to the other. Contracts amenable to formal methods: code verification can prove that a contract is internally consistent, free of contradiction, and complete. Contracts that execute themselves in software, integrated with business processes, interacting with other contracts. This is the vision of <a href="http://szabo.best.vwh.net/contractlanguage.html">Nick Szabo (2002)</a>, of <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2216866">Harry Surden (2012)</a>, of <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2538224">Flood & Goodenough (2014)</a>.</p>
<p>The Legalese team has started work on a JavaScript-to-English compiler. More on this as work progresses.</p>
</section>
<aside id="sidebar">
<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rBuKOWSqRE7QgKgF6uVWR9www4LoLho4UjOCHPQplhw/copy?id=1rBuKOWSqRE7QgKgF6uVWR9www4LoLho4UjOCHPQplhw©Collaborators=false©Comments=false&title=My%20Legalese%20Tutorial%202&usp=sheets_web" class="button">
<small>Install the</small>
Google App
</a>
<p class="repo-owner"><a href="https://github.com/legalese">Legalese</a> is a <a href="https://jfdi.asia/">JFDI.Asia</a> spinoff, initially hosted by <a href="https://github.com/cofounders">Cofounders</a> and later moved to its own project.</p>
<p>This page was generated by <a href="https://pages.github.com">GitHub Pages</a> using the Architect theme by <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonlong">Jason Long</a>.</p>
</aside>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>