That Isn't How It's Done

That’s not right. This is the only way to do this. That’s not how you do it. You are doing it wrong. You can't change the system. That isn't how it's done.

Have you heard these statements before? Because I sure have. This may come as a surprise to you, but things can (and should) change over time. Let’s look at some ideas of concepts that have changed over time.

For one, doctors used to use a process called bloodletting as a treatment for a variety of illnesses including fevers and high blood pressure. Bloodletting basically meant that physicians would drain a patient of their blood to cure an illness. Doctors bled people because it was a common belief that blood balance was what kept people healthy.?

How about the old lie detector test? This test required the person to hold a mouthful of rice in their mouth and if it came out dry, they were convicted. This was because of the idea that the people who were guilty would have a dry mouth. We now know that stress can lead to dry mouth, so we can conclude that many innocent people were convicted and executed for fraud even if they were telling the truth.

If those aren’t enough to help you understand the importance of change, do you know what the original use for a saw was? I am going to let you look that one up yourself.

So as you can see, things change, and most of the time, they change for the better.

This brings me to my main question, why has the legal field not changed? Why are we so dependent on the archaic form of law? Why are we still using the legalese and writing style of the last century? Can’t we run the legal industry differently?

A common misconception in the world of law is that there is only one way to write a contract. That there is only one way to word your agreements, one way to interpret a document. Well, I disagree. I believe that there are many ways to write up a contract that still results in reaching the same goal. I believe that there are ways to write up a document that drops all the legalese. This way clients don’t feel like they are running in circles trying to understand what they are reading. You should feel completely comfortable with signing a contract. The legal process is never going to be smooth, but you should never feel like you have no idea what is going on or what you are signing away.?

Another issue that I have run into, specifically working with business owners, is that most of them didn’t go to school to be a business owner. Some of you went to school to be a mechanic, or a dentist, or a therapist. Some of you didn’t go to school at all. Even those who went to school with the idea of owning a business may not have learned the ins and outs of what running a business truly requires. This is why having legal counsel is so important. To bounce business ideas off of someone, as well as to put in place the right contracts that you may not even be aware of otherwise. But if you don’t understand what the contracts are saying or what you are signing, what is the point?

The legal system is archaic to say the least, and there may not be much change for a while. But my goal is to make this process as easy and straightforward as possible. I want you to learn how to run your business safely, not just give you messy contracts to sign that you are dependent on a lawyer to read. Change isn’t always easy, but sometimes it is necessary and it takes a few baby steps to start. So I leave you with this today, it might not be how it is usually done, but who is to say that it can’t be?