Catch the clause that kills your fee. In 60 seconds.
One bad backdoor-hire clause can cost you a $25,000 placement. LexGuard scans every client agreement, placement contract, and contractor MSA for the clauses that quietly wipe out recruitment fees — tuned for both US (1099/AB5) and UK (IR35/Conduct Regs) staffing law, before you sign.
You sign 5 contracts a week. One bad clause = one unpaid placement.
Most legal-tech is built for law firms and Fortune 500 — it won't catch the recruitment-specific stuff that actually wipes out your fees: short backdoor-hire windows, unreasonable refund periods, fee triggers tied to probation completion, and worker-status indemnity traps (1099/AB5 in the US, IR35 in the UK). LexGuard does — every contract, every clause, every time.
Candidate places, client claims they 'already knew' them. Your 6-month backdoor-hire window expired three weeks ago. $25,000 fee gone.
Candidate quits in day 88 of a 90-day guarantee. Your client invokes a 100% refund clause buried on page 8. Refund $30,000 in cash.
IRS/California EDD reclassifies your US contractor as W-2 — or HMRC rules your UK contractor inside IR35. A one-sided indemnity clause makes you liable for back tax + penalties. $50k+ / £40k+ exposure per placement.
From PDF to negotiation leverage in 60 seconds
Upload the client agreement, placement contract, or contractor MSA. Or paste the text.
Fee triggers, refund windows, backdoor-hire scope, worker-status risk (1099/IR35), payment terms — flagged with $ or £ exposure.
Walk into the call knowing exactly what to push back on. Use our redline suggestions.
Every red flag includes a currency-denominated exposure
LexGuard doesn't just tell you a clause is unusual. It tells you what it could cost — in your contract's own currency. So when you push back on a 6-month backdoor window, you're not arguing legal theory — you're showing your client the exposure number on the screen.
Industry standard for permanent placements is 12 months. A 6-month window means if Client hires the candidate in month 7, no fee is owed. At typical perm fees of 20-25% of salary, that's $16-37k (US) or £7-17k (UK) per missed placement.
Built around the clauses that actually cost recruitment agencies money
Tied to offer acceptance, start date, or probation completion. When is your fee actually earned?
Length, sliding-scale terms, and what disqualifies a refund (termination for cause, layoff, voluntary quit).
Window length, applicability to affiliates and subsidiaries, proof of introduction standards.
Net days, late-payment interest, recovery of attorney fees and collection costs.
Contingency vs retained vs exclusive. Cancellation costs on mid-search exits.
US: IRS/state reclassification, AB5 & ABC tests. UK: IR35 SDS liability, who carries PAYE/NIC risk.
Enforceability by jurisdiction — US state bans (CA, MN, OK, ND) and UK reasonableness (Tillman).
US: FCRA/EEOC background checks. UK: Conduct Regs 2003, AWR 2010, temp-to-perm transfer fees.
Cap relative to fees at stake. Carve-outs for IP, confidentiality, gross negligence.
What happens to pending candidates introduced before termination. Survival of backdoor clause.
Fee insurance, priced like SaaS
One caught clause pays for years of subscription. Cancel any time.
For solo recruiters and boutique firms (1-5 desks).
Start free, upgrade when ready- Unlimited contract analyses
- All 10 recruitment-specific checks
- Dollar-denominated exposure on every red flag
- PDF export with redline suggestions
- Full history + clause library
- Email support, 24h reply
For agencies with 6+ desks or multi-office teams.
Start free, upgrade when ready- Everything in Recruitment Pro
- Up to 10 team members
- Shared clause library across team
- API access for ATS integration
- Custom PDF branding
- Priority support
Stop signing recruitment contracts blind.
Three free analyses. No credit card. Run it on your next client MSA and see what we catch.