There are a couple of techniques that I have used in the past that have worked well.
First, don't edit the proposed contract itself. Instead, add a rider that specifically overrides the provisions you don't like. Something like "Intellectual Property. Work produced by employee shall be considered work-for-hire. 'Work" is defined as..." Then add a line to the bottom of the rider that says "If any portion of this rider is in conflict with the main contract, the terms of the rider will override the terms of the contract." The benefit of this approach is that you avoid the back-and-forth niggling over particular words in the main contract, and you often overcome the other party's resistance to changing the language their lawyers said had to be there. It's stupid, but it works.
The second technique is simply to say, "this contract isn't large enough to justify these provisions. If you would like to bump the contract, we can talk. Otherwise, no." This has worked for me in negotiating software licenses. I haven't tried it in an employment situation. It works because it forces the other side to acknowledge that their demands have costs, and they can have what they want only if they pay for it. They never do.
I am not a lawyer. Heed this advice at your own risk.
First, don't edit the proposed contract itself. Instead, add a rider that specifically overrides the provisions you don't like. Something like "Intellectual Property. Work produced by employee shall be considered work-for-hire. 'Work" is defined as..." Then add a line to the bottom of the rider that says "If any portion of this rider is in conflict with the main contract, the terms of the rider will override the terms of the contract." The benefit of this approach is that you avoid the back-and-forth niggling over particular words in the main contract, and you often overcome the other party's resistance to changing the language their lawyers said had to be there. It's stupid, but it works.
The second technique is simply to say, "this contract isn't large enough to justify these provisions. If you would like to bump the contract, we can talk. Otherwise, no." This has worked for me in negotiating software licenses. I haven't tried it in an employment situation. It works because it forces the other side to acknowledge that their demands have costs, and they can have what they want only if they pay for it. They never do.
I am not a lawyer. Heed this advice at your own risk.