Is Working For Exposure Ever Worth It?

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If an employer offers something intangible, unquantifiable, or that he may have no control over, he’s not really offering anything. In essence, he’s creating a one-sided contract where you do all the work and receive none of the benefit. That’s called an “illusory promise” and it makes the contract unenforceable. Exposure in particular is illusory because there's no guarantee that you’ll actually get it (i.e. that anyone will actually see your work) or that the employer must do anything to ensure your work is seen by others. Ultimately, the problem with an offer of exposure is that you end up pinning your hopes on a promise the employer may not be able or willing to fulfill. 

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In Brief: Daniel Craig Will Return As James Bond Because He Is Contractually Obligated To [UPDATED!]

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Daniel Craig doesn't want to be James Bond anymore. Some have argued that his comments about slashing his wrists before playing the part again are really about using the press to negotiate a better deal for himself, but I take his words at face value. In fact, I'm not convinced he ever really wanted the role to begin with... that he was more interested in the potential exposure and interesting work opportunities that being James Bond would afford him. Even at its best, his relationship with the character has been cool.

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Is The Roommate Agreement In The Big Bang Theory Valid?

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The Big Bang Theory gets a lot of hate and I have to confess I don’t really understand why. Sure it’s no Mad Men (what is?), and it relies too frequently on dumb blonde and fat jokes, but I just can’t muster a strong feeling about it either way. My wife and I used to watch, mostly in syndication, but I just couldn’t get enough of a foothold to stick with it. Despite my ambivalence to the show, one thing has nagged at me for several years. So in honor of TBBT’s return tonight for its ninth season, I’d like to discuss whether Sheldon and Leonard’s roommate agreement is legally valid.

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Merger Clauses And You

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Unless you’re a witch (you’re not), your contracts don’t manifest fully formed out of thin air. They're the product of a negotiation, and whether long or short, the process will consist of you and the other party generating ideas about what the deal will look like. Sometimes during the negotiation, one of you may make a promise that for whatever reason doesn’t end up in the final written agreement. But when the other party assumes it’s still part of the deal, that’s when things can get FUBAR.

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A Client Asked Me When Her Contracts Should Be In Writing And I Yelled At Her

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A little while back, a client asked me whether there were instances where she could avoid the rigamarole (and expense) of drafting up new agreements, whether her business could survive if she saved written contracts for the big projects, the ones that could bring in real money. I told her that I empathized with her position. As a business owner you have to make tough decisions about where to allocate your limited funds. Drafting contracts for small jobs didn’t seem to her like a good place to do that. I also told her that she could save money by reusing some boilerplate language from a contract I had previously drafted for her. That would cut down on costs. Then I yelled at her.

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