Where and how to create the right legal document is a difficult decision to make. To help you decide what is the best option for you, we have written this article which sets out the key factors you should consider in making your decision, as well as the pros and cons of all the options.

When should you engage a solicitor?

A good solicitor really is worth the money you pay them. They are not cheap but their expertise mean they can save your business thousands in the event of a potential dispute.

A good solicitor will spend time with you discussing and understanding your needs and requirements. They will then write a document which is tailored to your specific objectives. They will also advise you on what is typical in the market or sector you operate in, ask you questions and guide you on contractual matters you may not have considered or thought about. They will create a bespoke document which fits your business like a perfectly tailored glove.

However, this service takes time. It will not simply be a case of pulling up the most recent version of the document they wrote for another client (or it certainly shouldn’t be!). The solicitor will take time to understand your needs, draft a document to meet those needs, discuss the drafting with you to further refine and clarify certain matters, and then finalise the document and advise you on how to implement the document in your business. Solicitors generally price their services based on the time it will take them to complete the work. For example, to produce a bespoke set of terms and conditions for a business it may take a solicitor 6-8 hours to complete (including the time to on board you as a client, discuss your needs and complete the work). If the solicitor charges an hourly rate of £400, then typically the costs will be estimated at between £2400-£3200 plus VAT but this may take longer depending on how you provide your instructions.

Pros and Cons

The advantage of using a solicitor is that you will receive a bespoke contract, tailored exactly to your needs, which you may use on multiple occasions in your business. You will also get the benefit of the solicitor’s professional indemnity insurance if the solicitor acts negligently when providing their services to you.

The disadvantages of using a solicitor are primarily the expense. Other disadvantages can come with using an inexperienced solicitor, or a solicitor not properly skilled in advising businesses in your sector.

When should you use AI generated documents?

AI is a phenomenal tool and it’s getting better all the time. What’s more, it’s free (well the basic versions are and even the paid versions are inexpensive!). AI can produce a document which looks pretty good and covers the key areas of concern for you. However, whether AI covers exactly what you need is questionable. Much depends on the prompt you write to create the document you need.

AI is not without its faults and risks. There is no guarantee that what AI produces for you is legally enforceable, or provides you with the right protections, or even appropriate for the jurisdiction you operate in. Often it is hard to understand what you are signing up to when generating a document using AI. As a lawyer, I’ve reviewed documents produced by AI. They often include provisions which favour the other party, and which expose you, the creator of the document, to significant risks which you are under no legal obligation to agree. AI has different views of what is considered ‘market standard’ which results in contractual exposures that you should not be accepting. For example, an AI generated document may expose you to unlimited liability for matters you are under no legal obligation to accept unlimited liability. AI is a great tool but needs to be used with extreme caution.

Pros and Cons

There is no denying it – AI is cheap and it’s quick. Once you have generated your AI document, you can reuse it and edit it as you wish.

The disadvantage of AI generated documents is primarily that you do not know what you are agreeing to in a document, and you do not know if what has been produced protects you. AI is self-taught, so if it believes that market standard is to offer unlimited liability for certain clauses, it will include that in the document it creates for you. AI is a risky tool to use – approach it with caution!

When you should use Shizl to generate documents?

Shizl was founded on the notion that business owners deserve access to good legal documents which do not cost the earth, are drafted in a sensible manner and in language which is easy to understand.

shizl documents include explanatory notes so the user understands what clauses and paragraphs in the shizl documents mean. Shizl operates on a credit based system which means that the service is not free, but it is not expensive either. All the documents on shizl have been written by lawyers who are highly experienced in their field and based on their understanding of what is typical in the relevant sector. shizl allows a user to build a document to their needs by asking certain questions and allowing the user to choose or tailor the response to that question to create a customised document. In short, the user understands what the document contains and has the ability to customise the document to suit their needs. The document will not be entirely perfect as it would be if it was created by a solicitor instructed by you, but it will provide you with a document which meets at least 85-90% of your needs at a fraction of the cost a solicitor would charge. Typically shizl documents cost between £30-£[200] depending on the chosen document, whereas solicitors would typically charge between £500-£20,000 for such documents. Shizl documents provide great protection until such time as you have funds available to instruct a solicitor to create a bespoke document for you. In addition shizl allows you to send a document to the other party for signature electronically and to store the fully signed and dated document in your shizl portal. Thereby offering a contract management solution as well as contract creation solution.

Pros and Cons

shizl documents are drafted by highly experienced lawyers with years of experience of advising all manner of businesses. It is cheap. It allows you to understand the documents you are creating, and to customise documents to your needs. It also facilitates signature (electronically) and storage of documents.

The disadvantages are that you cannot reuse the same contract with different parties – if you wish to create another contract for another party, then you need to return to shizl and create the document. This doesn’t apply to documents which can be downloaded (which are documents that do not require signature). Documents are not fully editable. Customisation is via shizl prompts, although there are various documents which allow for contract variations to be made in ‘special terms’ boxes.