>> once lawyers get involved, nobody ever really wins except the lawyers. Once you can't trust the people you're hiring, you can't win anyway. My recommendati

>> once lawyers get involved, nobody ever really wins except the lawyers. Once you can't trust the people you're hiring, you can't win anyway. My recommendation would still be the legal agreement, although I do agree with you that only the lawyers win. At the very least it should act as a deterrent - at least the freelancer can't win, so why bother stealing the idea? Just make sure that you verify their real identity and some information first, otherwise you have no way to enforce a contract.