Spend a little time/money with a lawyer to write up a work-for-hire contract that is right for you. In 7 years of running my own design business (4 as a freelancer, and 3 as a bona fide company), I've never actually had to take a dispute into the legal system, but I've benefitted GREATLY from having good contracts. Two reasons:
Contracts lets you talk about your values with a potential client in a very transparent way.
If a potential client responds negatively to an important part of you contract (ie — asking you to change or remove it) it can be a great sign that maybe you shouldn't work with them.
It's definitely not glamorous or fun, but it's one of the most valuable tools in my arsenal.
Spend a little time/money with a lawyer to write up a work-for-hire contract that is right for you. In 7 years of running my own design business (4 as a freelancer, and 3 as a bona fide company), I've never actually had to take a dispute into the legal system, but I've benefitted GREATLY from having good contracts. Two reasons:
It's definitely not glamorous or fun, but it's one of the most valuable tools in my arsenal.