What a bad contract looks like
Sep 22, 2026 · 19 min · 9 segments
Send us Fan Mail Bad contracts are not always obvious. Some are missing entirely, some are built from templates, and some look professional on the…
Sep 22, 2026 · 19 min · 9 segments
Send us Fan Mail Bad contracts are not always obvious. Some are missing entirely, some are built from templates, and some look professional on the…
[gentle music] If you're a longtime listener of the podcast, you have no doubt heard me say time and time again, "Prevention is better than cure, and there is no substitute for preparation." And I talk so much on the podcast about contracts and your documents and the power that they can deliver and the importance of getting them right, and I share with you the reason that I'm wedded to that.
I share with you insights and real-life examples of clients that I acted for earlier in my career as a litigator and a dispute resolution lawyer, and I share with you so many things that could have been avoided if clients had of had the right advice or the right support in place.
What I haven't shared with you, though, is what a bad contract actually looks like.
So you can certainly take away from all of the things that I share what they need to have and, and what's missing in a particular example.
But I haven't actually gone through point blank and said to you, "This is what a bad contract looks like." That's what I'm going to do in today's episode.
It's occurred to me that because I talk so much about the frameworks and the prevention being better than cure and what you need, it's occurred to me that it would be really helpful if I just stepped you through what comes so easily to me, because I see it all the time, what constitutes a bad contract and why.
But like everything I do, I have a holistic approach to my work, and I have a holistic approach when I work with my clients.
So I'm going to then spend some time talking to you about bad contracts through the business lens, which can often be very different.
[gentle music] If you're a longtime listener of the podcast, you have no doubt heard me say time and time again, "Prevention is better than cure, and there is no substitute for preparation." And I talk so much on the podcast about contracts and your documents and the power that they can deliver and the importance of getting them right, and I share with you the reason that I'm wedded to that.
I share with you insights and real-life examples of clients that I acted for earlier in my career as a litigator and a dispute resolution lawyer, and I share with you so many things that could have been avoided if clients had of had the right advice or the right support in place.
What I haven't shared with you, though, is what a bad contract actually looks like.
So you can certainly take away from all of the things that I share what they need to have and, and what's missing in a particular example.
But I haven't actually gone through point blank and said to you, "This is what a bad contract looks like." That's what I'm going to do in today's episode.
It's occurred to me that because I talk so much about the frameworks and the prevention being better than cure and what you need, it's occurred to me that it would be really helpful if I just stepped you through what comes so easily to me, because I see it all the time, what constitutes a bad contract and why.
But like everything I do, I have a holistic approach to my work, and I have a holistic approach when I work with my clients.
So I'm going to then spend some time talking to you about bad contracts through the business lens, which can often be very different.
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