[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":526},["ShallowReactive",2],{"project-30149370":3},{"id":4,"name":5,"line":6,"line_source":7,"title":8,"url":9,"domain":10,"maker":11,"posted_at":12,"year":13,"points":14,"comments":15,"rank_in_year":16,"shown_in_year":17,"top":18,"tier":19,"category":20,"subcategory":21,"format":22,"keywords":23,"reception":28,"sentiment":29,"stance_mix":30,"scored_comments":35,"aspects":36,"strip":45,"post_text":49,"what":50,"said":83,"maker_in_thread":208,"shape":220,"grid":225,"attempts":489,"same_week":490,"maker_shows":33,"maker_hidden":518,"reader_version":519,"card":520},"30149370","Magistrate","Plaintext legal contracts for developers","title","Show HN: Magistrate – Plaintext legal contracts for developers","https:\u002F\u002Fmagistrate.khanna.law\u002F","magistrate.khanna.law","hkhanna",1643644505,2022,279,101,156,2570,7,"legend","web_saas","contract management","api",[24,25,26,27],"plain text contracts","e-signature","legal tech","contract api","debated",0.092,{"positive":31,"neutral":32,"mixed":33,"critical":34},14,23,2,13,52,{"idea":37,"design":39,"docs":42,"execution":43,"privacy":44},{"positive":38,"critical":18},12,{"positive":40,"critical":41},0,4,{"positive":40,"critical":40},{"positive":40,"critical":33},{"positive":40,"critical":40},[46,47,48,40,40,40,47,40,40,40,46,40,48,47,47,46,47,48,48,47,47,47,47,46,47,40,40,46,46,48,41,40,48,48,46,46,46,48,33,41],5,1,3,"I made this because I think that if contracts were written in plain text files and managed more like software, from version control to IDEs, lawyers would work more quickly and intelligently for their clients, saving them money.\n\nBut the entire practice of transactional law is stuck on Microsoft Word. My clients are mostly technology companies with an appetite for innovation. With their encouragement, I am moving my own legal practice away from formats like Microsoft Word and into plain text.\n\nElectronic signatures of plain text contracts is the starting point for that effort. The MVP is this ",{"problem":51,"audience":57,"pricing":64,"motivation":75,"time_to_build":79,"stack":80,"openness":81,"stage":82,"team_size":81},{"value":52,"source":53,"evidence":54},"Contracts are drafted in Microsoft Word, which is hard to version and manage like software","maker",[55],{"id":56},"post",{"value":58,"source":53,"evidence":59},"Transactional lawyers and technology companies sending contracts",[60,61],{"id":56},{"id":62,"by":11,"text":63},"30150373","That's right! They often want to integrate with existing processes or products (often Salesforce) to automatically send contracts out for signatures on behalf of the company.",{"value":65,"source":66,"evidence":67},"Limited to 50 contracts per month on free tier; higher tiers planned","commenter",[68,72],{"id":69,"by":70,"text":71},"30152180","z3c0","This is great - I really hope to see this take hold. I work for a key player in the legal software space, and easily-parsed contracts would be a game-changer for us. Especially…",{"id":73,"by":11,"text":74},"30152205","There are! I just had no idea how positive the reception would be. If you're interested in a higher tier, just reach out to the email in my profile and we'll set something up.",{"value":76,"source":53,"evidence":77},"Believes contracts should be plain text managed like software, moving his own legal practice off Word",[78],{"id":56},null,[],"unknown","beta",{"praise":84,"objections":111,"requests":141,"questions":169,"alternatives":191},[85,100],{"value":86,"source":66,"evidence":87},"Plain text contracts are a good idea that could improve workflows",[88,92,96],{"id":89,"by":90,"text":91},"30151204","thruflo","This is really really good. If you can build a collaboration ecosystem around this a kind of GitHub meets Seedlegals then you can create a huge amount of value and disrupt an…",{"id":93,"by":94,"text":95},"30152960","otoburb","This is great! I too have wondered why contracts can't be in plain text since the versioning and back-and-forth between legal and business teams could be handled so much more…",{"id":97,"by":98,"text":99},"30150814","robertlagrant","I have to say, I've wanted someone to do this for years. Amazing to see it coming about. Imagine if it were possible to describe more and more things the way Creative Commons does?",{"value":101,"source":66,"evidence":102},"Simpler e-signing than DocuSign is welcome",[103,107],{"id":104,"by":105,"text":106},"30150551","programmarchy","I've used eSignatures.io in the past, which uses Markdown for contracts, and found it to be exponentially easier to use than DocuSign, so I appreciate simpler solutions coming…",{"id":108,"by":109,"text":110},"30155112","jaza","This is a great first step towards better online signing of contracts. I agree with what the FAQ says: \"I've always thought that the fake cursive signatures that most electronic…",[112,123,127,134],{"value":113,"source":66,"evidence":114},"Lawyers will stick with Microsoft Word due to opposing counsel and history needs",[115,119],{"id":116,"by":117,"text":118},"30151734","mushufasa","I have found it impractical to get lawyers to use anything other than Microsoft Word even when there are clear benefits (like online collaboration and shared version history).…",{"id":120,"by":121,"text":122},"30153894","jll29","I used to be Director of Research at \"one company that makes some of the leading legal information access products\". You won't likely divorce lawyers from their beloved Word…",{"value":124,"source":66,"evidence":125},"Signatures are just typed text without cryptographic verification",[126],{"id":108,"by":109,"text":110},{"value":128,"source":66,"evidence":129},"No standard formatting or clause numbering for plain text contracts",[130],{"id":131,"by":132,"text":133},"30150377","NoboruWataya","Have you developed a standardised format for expressing a legal contract as plain text (including clause numbers, definitions, etc)? The example I see on your Docs page doesn't…",{"value":135,"source":66,"evidence":136},"Contracts are not like code; the analogy is weak",[137],{"id":138,"by":139,"text":140},"30156040","jrm4","Lawyer here. Much like \"Smart Contracts\" (presently the worst named thing for anything these days), this is that thing where a tech person believes that lawyer problems are like…",[142,150,154,161],{"value":143,"source":66,"evidence":144},"Templating with inline parameters",[145,146],{"id":104,"by":105,"text":106},{"id":147,"by":148,"text":149},"30151592","olah_1","It would be awesome if you used a templating system for the writing process. Then the writers can have templates and just change who $ {partyA} is.",{"value":151,"source":66,"evidence":152},"Webhooks and metadata on contracts",[153],{"id":104,"by":105,"text":106},{"value":155,"source":66,"evidence":156},"Security documentation and audit trails",[157],{"id":158,"by":159,"text":160},"30150972","eganist","I appreciate the concept here, but I have to ask: do you have a security page for this that documents the controls in place? I get that that's probably not a priority for a…",{"value":162,"source":66,"evidence":163},"A GUI rather than only an API",[164,165],{"id":120,"by":121,"text":122},{"id":166,"by":167,"text":168},"30150432","webmobdev","This is a neat idea. So is there a repository where the contract is stored, and does every one have read access to it? Does a version control track changes? I do feel you'd have…",[170,177,184],{"value":171,"source":66,"evidence":172},"Where is proof of signing stored and will it outlast the company",[173],{"id":174,"by":175,"text":176},"30152202","andi999","So where is the proof that all parties signed located? On your servers? So do I rely on your company still offering the service if there is a contract dispute 5 years down the…",{"value":178,"source":66,"evidence":179},"Which legal jurisdiction it targets",[180],{"id":181,"by":182,"text":183},"30150886","Terry_Roll","I couldnt tell what country and thus legal system this was aimed at, so I've assumed this is geared for the US and not European countries and spent like 20seconds on it before…",{"value":185,"source":66,"evidence":186},"Whether the signatures hold up in court",[187],{"id":188,"by":189,"text":190},"30150121","omarhaneef","Is there a legal way to demonstrate the legally binding aspect? I mean could you, for example, sign a document with your friend, have them purposefully violate it, and then take…",[192,196,200,204],{"value":193,"source":66,"evidence":194},"eSignatures.io",[195],{"id":104,"by":105,"text":106},{"value":197,"source":66,"evidence":198},"DocuSign",[199],{"id":104,"by":105,"text":106},{"value":201,"source":66,"evidence":202},"Thomson Reuters Contract Express",[203],{"id":120,"by":121,"text":122},{"value":205,"source":66,"evidence":206},"Microsoft Word",[207],{"id":116,"by":117,"text":118},{"comments":209,"answered":18,"key":210},11,[211,214,217],{"id":212,"text":213},"30151833","I have felt this exact pain. I think I know the path to overcoming Microsoft Word in the legal world. It will be a long road, but it will happen sooner or later. I think we can…",{"id":215,"text":216},"30150470","Thanks for the feedback. I agree there's a lot that remains to be done on formatting, etc. This is, after all, just an MVP. One of the directions I may take this is to allow…",{"id":218,"text":219},"30151239","100%. I think about this balance 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