"refer not to have to pay a lawyer again to read and validate yours" I could totally see why this is why they didn't want to sign it.

I thought it was a red flag too - but they had promptly paid me the week before (for week 1) with no problems. Their reasons for not wanting to sign it were "we have a standard agreement that all "freelancers" sign and we don't sign separate contracts as we have investors"

>> "they had promptly paid me the week before"

You can't judge people that quickly. I had a client I worked with on several projects and they paid fully up front which was fantastic. On the final project I worked with them they still owed me half the bill, deleted our basecamp project (nearly all communications), stopped replying to my emails, and ignored my invoices. It was 6 months before I tracked down their new company and surprised them with a phone call and threat of court. I eventually got the money but needless to say the guy was an asshole about it.

I guess my point is that even when you think you have built a good relationship with someone over a few months, when you're working on the internet people think they can do whatever they like. The internet makes it easy to gain trust and easier to destroy it.

As for how to deal with the client try to work things out without threats. Only resort to threats when necessary as the second you mention court people go on the defensive.

This is a great point - thanks for this. I think this is 1 of some things I'm still learning - as being primarily "employed" and not "self-employed" as a consultant(freelancer). Thanks!

The we have investors is a BS argument. If I shop at Amazon.com I am bound by their TOS. Your agreement is your Terms of Service for working with you. Sign someone else's agreement at your own peril.

"I have a standard agreement that all my clients sign. If you aren't willing to sign it, here are some other freelancers I can recommend."

That can be tricky. Venture funded companies that are totally legit and run by competent people sometimes don't want to use a vendor's form. That's not really a red flag...

Great point, noted for next time for SURE!

I would first read the agreement they want you to sign though. If it's not bad and you can live with it, it's sometimes worse it to compromise. Some of the bigger clients cannot be flexible on contracts.

Of course, one important thing is too decide how money you're willing to risk. If you're not willing to risk more than two week's worth of work, then bill them weekly so that you can act quickly in case they decide to stiff you.