#184: Becoming Comfortable and Knowledgeable with Contracts and Other Legalese, with Lawyer Brionna Ned

Deliberate Freelancer

Today’s guest is Brionna Ned, a former big-law lawyer and in-house counsel for tech companies. She is now a legal educator and a writer. Her company, The Everyday Lawyer, is a legal education and consulting service for small business owners that provides you with the legal knowledge you need to create solid foundations in your business. She also has a course: Contract Foundations for Freelancers.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Brionna went from lawyer to owning a legal education business.
• What she loves about her business.
• The basics of contracts.
• Why all service providers need a contract — and the reason is probably not what you think.
• How to put boundaries in your contract.
• Why it’s important to customize your contract and be sure you understand what it says.
• What to do if you — or your client — doesn’t want to use a contract.
• What to look for in a contract that a client sends you.
• How to explain to a client (and really, their lawyer) why certain contract provisions don’t apply to you and should be deleted.
• Why indemnification clauses are harmful and how to try to get them removed from a contract.
• If you can’t get indemnification clauses removed, know how to suggest changes to limit them in a scope.
• Don’t sign a non-compete clause.
• The difference between a non-disclosure agreement and a confidentiality agreement.
• How to be proactive in ensuring you will be paid and paid on time.
• What to do when you are not getting paid on time.

Biz Bite: Not all money is good money. (Trust your instincts!)

Resources:

• Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group
• The Everyday Lawyer website
• Brionna’s Contract Foundations for Freelancers course
• Brionna on Threads
• Brionna on Instagram
• Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee
• Connect with Melanie on Threads @MelEdits_DC
• Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn