Legal
Contract Explainer
Every clause of a contract explained in plain English, with flags on exactly what to ask a solicitor about before you sign.
Reads your operating system before it starts. Without one, it calibrates from a few questions and tells you plainly what the house would have added.
The task
A new client has sent you their standard services agreement. You need to understand what you'd be agreeing to before Friday.
By hand
You read it twice. The definitions section refers to clauses you haven't reached yet, clause 14 seems to say you owe them work forever, and you're not sure whether that's normal or alarming. You could send the whole thing to a solicitor, but this is a small engagement and the fees would eat the margin.
So you sign it mostly unread, like the last three, and hope the relationship never sours enough for the words to matter.
With the specialist
Three answers
The contract, your side of it, and what you intend to do with it. The whole document is read before any clause is explained.
- QThe contract text, pasted or as a file
- QWhich side of it you are on
- QWhat you plan to do: sign, send or negotiate
The ship gate
Every clause covered in order, no legal conclusions anywhere, and the walkthrough must open with its solicitor disclaimer. If any check fails, it's fixed before you see the output.
- The output must begin with the plain-English disclaimer, always
- No clause is ever called unenforceable or illegal: flags say 'ask a solicitor about X'
- Every clause covered in document order, the boring ones included
- The 'before you sign' list names what the contract does not mention
The deliverable
A clause-by-clause plain-English table with a green, amber or red flag per clause, each red flag phrased as a question to raise, and a 'before you sign' list including what the contract is silent on.
Sample output
What the deliverable looks like, on a neutral example.
A services agreement, explained
This is a plain-English explanation, not legal advice. Have a solicitor review anything you intend to sign.
Before you sign: two questions to raise, and one thing the contract never mentions.
By hand
typically 2 to 4 hours of careful reading, or solicitor fees for the lot
With the specialist
minutes to a full walkthrough, then a focused solicitor question list
Illustrative comparison from the authors' own use; estimates, not measurements.
Contract Explainer: £19, yours to keep.
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Runs on your own Claude subscription. Prices are indicative while we finish arguing about them.