We believe the legal basics should be free.
Legal Foundations is a not-for-profit organisation run by UK lawyers. Our mission is to improve access to legal services for startups and SMEs — starting with making the essentials available to everyone, at no cost.
The problem we’re solving
UK legal costs are prohibitive. Thousands of businesses every year skip getting legal help — not because they don’t need it, but because they can’t justify the cost of a lawyer for a standard document or a straightforward question.
The result is contracts that don’t protect them, founders who split equity on a handshake, employees hired without proper contracts, and disputes that spiral because no one addressed the issue early.
That’s a fixable problem. The standard legal documents a business needs aren’t complicated to produce. They just need to be made available.
How it works
Over 30 lawyer-drafted documents and in-depth guides covering startup law, employment, commercial agreements, disputes, M&A, and more. All free to access, no account needed.
Fill in your details and download a ready-to-use document immediately. Every document includes plain-English guidance on the key clauses and when to use it.
When your situation is more complex — a disputed contract, a fundraising round, a shareholder falling out — we can connect you with a specialist UK lawyer from our partner network.
Can you trust free legal documents?
Every document on this site is drafted by a qualified UK lawyer. They’re not AI-generated, not scraped from the internet, and not adapted from US templates. The right question isn’t “are these good documents?” — it’s “is a template the right tool for my situation?”
- ✓Your situation is straightforward and common — two founders, standard equity split, simple vesting
- ✓You need a starting point to review, adapt, or show to a lawyer
- ✓The other party is unlikely to push back hard on terms
- ✓The stakes are relatively low and the document is largely procedural
- ✓You’re a startup moving fast and need something in place now
- ▲The other party has their own lawyers and is negotiating hard
- ▲The deal is complex, high-value, or has unusual features
- ▲You’re already in a dispute or things have gone wrong
- ▲You need advice on what to agree, not just how to document it
- ▲The document involves regulatory requirements specific to your business
What we cover
Founders agreements, EMI schemes, SEIS advance assurance, shareholders agreements, ASAs, and cap tables.
Employment contracts, directors’ service contracts, HR policies, and guidance on hiring, managing, and letting people go compliantly.
NDAs, master services agreements, statements of work, website T&Cs, and privacy policies.
Debt recovery letters, cease and desist templates, and guides to resolving commercial disputes in England & Wales.
Share certificates, registers, written resolutions, and a guide to setting up and running a UK limited company.
IP assignment agreements, NDAs, and a guide to protecting trade marks, patents, copyright, and design rights.
Browse 30+ free documents and 10+ in-depth guides. Download instantly, no sign-up needed.
Complex situation? Our partner network of specialist UK lawyers can advise, draft, and represent you.