Contract Drafting & Review Services in India
Contracts that are drafted correctly protect your business when the relationship goes wrong. Contracts that are signed without careful review become the source of disputes, uncapped liabilities, and unenforceable obligations years later. Y&A Legal provides contract drafting and review services for businesses across India, from startup founders needing their first co-founder agreement and NDA templates, to established companies managing complex enterprise sales contracts and vendor agreements. We draft contracts that say what both parties intend, in language that is enforceable in Indian courts, and we review contracts that counterparties have presented to you, flagging terms that create disproportionate liability, identifying clauses that are non-standard and negotiable, and redlining what needs to change before you sign. Most contract reviews are turned around within 2–3 business days. For founders, one of our most-requested services is the founders’ agreement, the single most important contract for any startup, and the one most often signed too casually or not at all.
[Image placeholder: Lawyer reviewing contract clauses with a client at a desk, highlighting specific terms, conveying attention to detail and contractual expertise, real photo to replace at launch]
8+ Years
combined experience
50+
clients advised
Pan-India
Contracts for all industries
How We Help
Founder & Co-founder Agreements
A founders’ agreement governs the relationship between co-founders, equity ownership, vesting schedules, roles, decision-making authority, IP assignment to the company, what happens if a co-founder leaves before vesting, and the exit mechanism if the founders cannot agree on a direction for the business. Without one, co-founder disputes are resolved by negotiation under pressure rather than by the agreed terms of a contract. We draft founders’ agreements that protect every co-founder’s interests and protect the company’s continuity if the founding team changes.
NDA & Confidentiality Agreements
A well-drafted NDA does three things: clearly defines what information is confidential, specifies what the receiving party can and cannot do with it, and provides an enforceable remedy if it is breached. Many standard NDA templates are so broad that they are unenforceable, or so narrow that they do not protect the information they were meant to cover. We draft mutual and one-way NDAs calibrated to the specific situation, early-stage partnership discussions, vendor engagements, and employee onboarding all require different NDA structures.
Service Agreements & MSAs
A service agreement or Master Services Agreement (MSA) defines the terms of a commercial relationship: what services are being provided, how they are scoped and delivered, what the payment terms are, who owns the IP created in the course of the engagement, what the liability caps are, and how the agreement can be terminated. We draft service agreements for technology companies, consulting firms, marketing agencies, and professional service providers, agreements that are enforceable in Indian courts and that accurately reflect the commercial arrangement between the parties.
Vendor, Supplier & Commercial Contracts
Commercial contracts between businesses, supply agreements, distribution agreements, manufacturing agreements, software licensing agreements, and joint venture agreements, need to accurately reflect the commercial deal while protecting each party’s interests in the scenarios that are most likely to cause disputes: delivery failures, IP ownership, indemnity for third-party claims, and termination rights. We draft and review commercial contracts across industries, redlining counterparty drafts and negotiating terms that are unfavourable to our client.
Why Businesses Choose Y&A Legal for Contract Drafting in India
The contracts that most often end up in litigation are the ones that were signed quickly, a vendor agreement that was marked-up once and countersigned without a lawyer review, an employment contract that was downloaded from the internet and never customised, a co-founder agreement that was never signed at all. We work with businesses to build a standard contract library, the core agreements that cover 80% of their commercial relationships, so that routine contracting is fast and the unusual situations get the attention they deserve.
Contract review is not just about spotting unfavourable terms, it is about understanding what the contract actually commits your business to, and advising on which terms are standard in your industry and which are negotiating points. Many businesses sign contracts with unlimited liability caps, IP assignment clauses that give away rights they did not intend to transfer, or termination provisions that lock them into a relationship longer than the commercial logic supports. We flag all of these.
We draft contracts for founders, startups, and established businesses across India, and most contract work is done entirely remotely, the contract is shared, reviewed, redlined, and returned without any physical meeting required. For companies with regular contracting needs, we offer a legal retainer that gives you dedicated contract review capacity at a predictable monthly cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can Y&A Legal draft or review a contract?
Standard contract reviews are returned within 2–3 business days. Draft contracts for standard agreements. NDAs, service agreements, employment contracts, are delivered within 3–5 business days. For urgent matters, we accommodate shorter timelines with advance notice. For complex agreements. M&A documents, joint venture agreements, or multi-party commercial contracts, we advise on the timeline at the outset.
What is a founders agreement and why does every startup need one?
A founders’ agreement is a contract between the co-founders that governs equity ownership, vesting (the schedule by which founders earn their equity over time), IP assignment, roles, decision-making authority, and exit mechanics. Without one, a co-founder who leaves in the first year walks away with their full equity stake, and the company has no legal basis to recover it. This is one of the most common and costly startup legal problems we encounter. Every startup with more than one founder needs a founders’ agreement, signed before any significant work begins.
What commercial contracts should a startup have in place from day one?
The essential contracts for a startup from day one are: (1) a founders’ agreement between the co-founders; (2) IP assignment agreements from each founder to the company; (3) an employment agreement template for the first employees; (4) an NDA for vendor and customer discussions; and (5) a service agreement or order form for the company’s core service or product offering. These five documents cover the vast majority of early-stage commercial relationships and significantly reduce the risk of disputes as the business grows.
Can Y&A Legal draft contracts that work across multiple Indian states?
Yes. Contracts governed by Indian law, the Indian Contract Act, the Specific Relief Act, and sector-specific legislation, apply across India. We draft contracts with governing law clauses that specify which Indian court has jurisdiction, which is a standard and important provision for any commercial agreement. We advise on which state jurisdiction is most favourable for dispute resolution given the nature of the contract and the parties’ locations.
What is the difference between an NDA and a non-compete agreement?
An NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) restricts what a party can disclose about confidential information they receive, it governs the use and protection of information. A non-compete agreement restricts what a party can do in terms of business activity, it prohibits them from working for a competitor or starting a competing business for a specified period and geography. In India, non-compete clauses in employment agreements have limited enforceability after termination under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act. We advise on how to structure both types of clauses to maximise their enforceability in Indian courts.
Related Corporate Legal Services
- Corporate Legal Services in India
- Startup Legal Advisory Services
- Corporate & Company Lawyer Services
- Legal Retainer Services for Startups
Written by Yuvraj Rana, Advocate & Co-Founder, Y&A Legal