The Associate Contract Field Guide

Your first associate contract was written by someone else’s attorney, for someone else’s benefit, and handed to you with a smile. That is not cynicism. It is simply what an employment contract is.

This guide makes you a better reader of your own contract, and a much better client for the attorney who reviews it. It contains no templates and no clause language, by design.

What's inside

• How you actually get paid: production or collection, gross or net of adjustments, and where lab fees land
• Recoverable draws, and how a slow first six months can leave you owing your employer money
• Non-competes: distance, duration, and the detail about which location the radius is measured from
• Non-solicitation, which is often more restrictive than the non-compete beside it
• Malpractice tail coverage, and the five-figure surprise that waits for associates whose contract is silent on it
• Termination clauses read the way you will actually read them one day
• Twenty red flags, and twelve questions to ask before you sign
• Exactly what to send your attorney so an hour of their time goes furthest

Who it's for

Dental students in their final year, new graduates reviewing a first offer, and associates considering a move.

Format

13 pages, PDF. Instant download after checkout.

Licence

Licensed to a single practice and every location under common ownership. Unlimited staff. Not for resale or redistribution to other practices.

Educational material only. This is not legal advice, it creates no attorney-client relationship, and it deliberately contains no contract templates. Employment law and restrictive covenant enforceability vary by state and change over time. Have your contract reviewed by an attorney licensed where you will practise.