Have you ever forgotten to update the copyright ownership section of your contract for months?
Have you ever went back and forth with a client over simple things like payment terms that you thought were clearly outlined in your contract?
While a contract does wonders for getting you and your client on the same page, important contract details are often buried in the contract.
This makes it challenging for you to remember where the contract needs to be updated for every project.
And it makes it challenging for your client to find the information they care about.
The good news is, you can easily reduce the back and forth by switching up the format of your contract.
How did I come up with ideal contract format?
When I was in law school, I worked at a small firm. And I was lucky enough that they let me take the lead on client projects. Of course, while being supervised by an experienced attorney.
One of the first projects I worked on was updating a contract for a photographer.
He was a commercial photographer doing dozens of shoots a month. Because he was working with big brands that had their own rules, each shoot had different licenses, timeframes, payments, and distribution of responsibilities.
My supervising attorney and I met with the client, so I could understand what was and wasn’t working with his existing contract.
During our chat, the photographer told us the story of how, for at least two months, his assistant didn’t update the social media rights section of the contract. And they only found out when a client pointed it out.
He also told the story of how his assistant wasted hours coordinating shared responsibilities with a specific client. Because while it was in the contract, the client hadn’t seen it.
After talking to him, it was clear that while his contract was three pages, important details were being missed.
So, I sketched out a new format.
This format had a cover page with:
- all the information the photographer (and his clients) cared about
- all the information that changed from project to project.
And then the remaining pages contained the legal nitty-gritty.
I knew that this format would make it easier for:
- the photographer (and his team) to remember where the contract needed updating because it was all on the first page
- his commercial clients because they could quickly find what they cared about
So, I updated his contract according to this format. And then sent it off to my supervising attorney for review.
The next day, I was called into his office. He started chewing me out, and I was flabbergasted. He told me that he didn’t know what they were teaching me in law school, but that this wasn’t how contracts looked.
He told me my assignment was to update sections of the contract. It wasn’t to create a new contract format.
He said I needed to go back to the old contract and update the sections that were no longer working for the client.
I knew that this format was better for the photographer. And I wasn’t giving up, so I started arguing that:
- a contract isn’t effective if our client doesn’t update certain sections
- our client is getting a bad deal if he doesn’t update the contract to include the right license
- we shouldn’t be making it harder for our client to run his business, because that’s how “contracts” look
- contract format isn’t a legal rule, but an archaic standard
But he was the attorney, and I lost.
So the photographer paid us money, but his contract still wasn’t fixed. All because that attorney thought contracts were “supposed” to look a certain way.
Say goodbye to second-guessing your contract.
Shield Your Studio is a summer workshop series that helps creative business owners write enforceable, respectful client contracts, without burnout, legalese, or rewriting things every time a new client signs on.
By the end of the summer, you’ll have more than a stronger contract. You’ll know how to hold boundaries without guilt, explain your terms with confidence, and stop second-guessing whether your contract can back you up. New sessions will be released throughout the summer, with live Q&As and contract language included.
Imagine sending your contract without overexplaining, apologizing, or adjusting it every time.
What is the ideal contract format?
When I started my law firm, I created contracts that worked for my clients. I didn’t care if they matched some silly, archaic format.
And my format starts with a cover page. On this cover page, I list out all the important things:
- the names and contact information of all parties
- how long the contract lasts
- what is being exchanged
- schedule
- timeline
- deliverables
- any restrictions on the use of deliverables
I then use the rest of the contract to cover the nitty-gritty legal stuff. (Want to get ideas on what topics you should cover in the nitty gritty legal stuff? Click here to read the post.)
This is the format I use for all my clients’ contracts and the format I teach. Because it makes both your life (and the lives of those you are working with) easier.
Putting it All Together
There you have it! You know how tweaking your format not only makes it easier for you to update, but easier for your client to find the details they care about.
This one-time tweak is going to make a huge difference in the back and forth with your clients, so set a timer for 20 minutes and see if you can create that cover page.
Say goodbye to second-guessing your contract.
Shield Your Studio is a summer workshop series that helps creative business owners write enforceable, respectful client contracts, without burnout, legalese, or rewriting things every time a new client signs on.
By the end of the summer, you’ll have more than a stronger contract. You’ll know how to hold boundaries without guilt, explain your terms with confidence, and stop second-guessing whether your contract can back you up. New sessions will be released throughout the summer, with live Q&As and contract language included.
Imagine sending your contract without overexplaining, apologizing, or adjusting it every time.
Hi! I’m Kiff! I’m your friendly legal eagle (and licensed attorney).
My goal is to add ease to the legalese. And because I think basic legal resources should be available to every creative, I create a lot of free content.
If I’ve created something that has helped inject a little ease into your creative business and you would like to say “thank you”, you can make a contribution here.
If you’d like to hear more from me, I’d love to pop into your inbox every Friday morning to share additional ways to cut through the red tape and inject a little ease.
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