The contracting party and responsibility for content
A freelance agreement identifies the business the client engages and assigns responsibility for the document’s content.
The business the client engages
One experienced UK freelancer had encountered a requirement to trade through a limited company from only one or two clients and knew writers who had worked successfully as sole traders for more than 20 years. Another UK freelancer found that many large companies, particularly pharmaceutical companies, required their providers to have limited-company status.
A limited company is a separate legal entity. For a freelancer trading through one, a substantial assignment should have a contract between the client and the company, rather than the writer personally.
Professional review
A freelancer supplying their own agreement should use text professionally drafted by a lawyer. A client-drafted agreement should also be reviewed by a qualified professional. Accountancy firms or tax lawyers should advise on current requirements in the countries where the writer works, because circumstances differ and laws can change from year to year.
Responsibility for content
One freelance writer routinely includes a clause making the client responsible overall for the document’s content, because the client ultimately reviews and approves it. Expectations about writing and signing an expert report should be discussed with the client.