The referral agreement I signed without reading cost me 8 months of work

Back in 2021 I partnered with a design agency in Austin for a web development project. I signed their referral agreement without reading the fine print about non-competes and IP ownership. Turns out that agreement gave them rights to any client I brought in for the next 2 years. I lost a big retainer client in month 4 when the agency claimed they introduced us. Now I spend 30 minutes reading every partnership contract before I sign. Has anyone else gotten burned by a standard template agreement they thought was harmless?

2 comments

2 Comments

hollyg5917d ago

Oh man, that's brutal! I've definitely been there where a "standard" form cost me big time. I still cringe thinking about the time I signed a vendor agreement without reading the fine print about automatic renewals and ended up paying for a year of software I never used. @abby_black hit the nail on the head about protecting the agency first - my own referral partner tried to pull the same trick, claiming a client they never even introduced was "theirs" under a vague clause. Now I'm the annoying person who reads every contract out loud with a highlighter before signing, but it beats losing 8 months of work!

abby_black17d ago

I read a post from this lawyer on LinkedIn who said most referral agreements are written to protect the agency not you. She said the key is to have a clear definition of what counts as "their client" before you sign. In your case it sounds like they stretched that definition pretty far. That 30 minute reading habit probably saved you from worse headaches down the road.