http://www.counseltocreativity.com/

Counsel to Creativity, Portsmouth, NH (2026)

08/08/2023

I encourage every client who comes to my law practice to resolve a conflict to also work with me to untangle it energetically.

In every conflict, there is an underlying subtle energy pattern of interference and entanglement.

This does not mean you caused the issue. (The world is the going to be the world.) It does mean that it’s an opportunity to see what’s in it and underneath it for you—and how it could be hampering your business—and clear that away, so you are no longer emotionally enmeshed and distracted by it.

07/28/2023

I am writing a contract for a client who is hiring and mentoring high school and college students—and what a lens!

Every single contract should be written this simply and clearly. (It’s possible!)

My practice is currently booking into September, so if you want your business’s contracts to be simple, clear and effective—not to mention human—reach out at the link in the comments to get on our calendar this Fall.

06/14/2023

Your client contract is the river bank through which your magic—and your money—flows.

There is a profound (and sacred) symbiotic relationship between structure and flow (including creativity, communication and resources).

Aligned structures allow for ease of flow. Without any structure, there is no flow. (There’s a flood).

Your client contract is one of the key structural elements (or systems) you have in your business for client engagement, client service, and financial flow.

It also offers boundary and direction to the time, energy and resources of you and your team in the service of clients.

Think of it like a river. There is no river without the river banks. There’s a floodplain.

The river bank provides the necessary boundary and support, limitation and direction, for the river to flow.

And the river creates the river bank.

The shape of your work and your client relationship gives form to your client contract—not the other way around.

Contract law allows you that creativity and freedom.

So, we always begin with what is resonant and aligned (and true) for your business and the work you deliver to your clients.

And we craft your client contract to hold and convey that—practically and energetically.

Message me at the link in the comments to begin your fully resonant and aligned client with a ½ hr consult.

06/07/2023

Your client contract only needs 3 things (to be legal.)

So, what are they (and how do you know if you have them now)?

1. Offer—You need to extend an offer to work with you. And you need to do it with sufficient specificity.

2. Acceptance—Your client needs to say yes, they accept your offer.

3. Exchange of Value—You and your client need to exchange something of value (legally called, consideration)—and that exchange must go both ways.

If you create for your clients, you will also need:

4. Work for Hire (or Not)—You need to decide who owns what you create for your clients—and when (before or after you get paid). There are 3 different ways to do this, and each requires specific legal language. (If you are a creative service provider and we work together, we walk through which option is best and easiest for you.)

That’s it. (Yes, that’s really it.)

If you are engaging clients, you likely already have a contract.

So then, why have a written contract?

Your client contract guides the flow of work, money and relationship with clarity and consistency—and that cultivates trust between you and your clients.

It provides a framework for how you’ll work together, how you’ll communicate, what you’ll expect from each other, and how you’ll show up for each other.

And it sets the tone, intention and course for this.

When expectations are clear, stated and agreed upon, you are both at ease.

You feel trusted and trustworthy.

You can relax and do the work (really do the work).

You can show up, fully.

Because you are held by the clear framework of relationship set forth in your client contract.

(It never ceases to amaze and delight me when clients stand in their work more fully and powerfully than they ever have after creating a client contract that really works.)

And the exciting part is: beyond these 3 simple elements, the form, energy and tone of your work and your client relationship can shape the contract.

Your client contract is a powerful tool for your business, and I’d love to work with you to craft it.

Reach out at the link in my bio, and my team will answer any questions and give you all the details you need to meet with me for a consult.

05/31/2023

Your client contract is a lot simpler, legally, than you think. Its simplicity has been shrouded by legalese, by lawyers, and by legal zoom.

There’s a (mis)perception that you need a lot to go into it, in a very specific way.

You do not.

Your client contract is actually very flexible and customizable, outside of 3 basic elements.

The law of contracts developed and is designed that way: to reflect and enforce the chosen relationship between people and businesses.

So, let’s talk about what a contract is—and what it is not (and get any misconceptions you might have out of the way).

What a contract is—
A contract is a legally-binding agreement about a relationship in which there is an exchange of value.

I emphasize the relationship at the center of a contract because for you—for me and for all of my clients—the client relationship is the focus and priority.

The contract is a vehicle to provide clarity and agreement in that relationship. It is typically only one aspect of the relationship—and it is always in furtherance of the relationship.

The relationship guides the contract, not the other way around. (I’ll be sharing more on how.)

What a contract is not—
A contract is not legalese. It is not the form language that’s repeated over and over again, except in a few specific instances.

A contract is not imposed by the law from on high (typically).
Your client relationship guides the contract, not the other way around—and generally, except in some very specific circumstances, you have a lot of flexibility about what that looks like.

Contracts as a body of law literally evolved this way. Judges deciding disputes between people who had made an agreement began their analysis by looking at how people were making agreements—and why.

They asked: What are people’s expectations from and for each other when they enter into an agreement? What—and why—is it valuable for the law to hold them to those expectations?

We can (and should) critique the cultural assumptions and power imbalances that gave rise to contract law. Law is contextual, and that’s the point. The law of contracts itself is an example of creating structure (and collective accountability) out of what already was.

You can use that to your advantage to craft a client contract that exactly right for your business. You are not subject to one being imposed upon you.

A contract is not the piece of paper that the agreement is written on. It’s not the document that you send. It’s not the terms of service that are at the bottom.

The contract is the agreement between you and your client. That’s it. It exists in that real world dynamic.

The value in creating a written client contract is clarity. You remove the ambiguity and chance that you remember one thing about your agreement and your client remembers another—and you save the time, energy and (potential) anxiety of sorting that out.

Literally, the term for a written contract is a memorialization. You write a contract so that you both have a clear memory of your agreement.

I’d love to work with you to craft a client contract that’s exactly right for your relationship with your clients.

Message me at the link in the comments.

05/26/2023

Yes! You can have a client contract that you’re excited to send—that feels good to you and your clients.

05/24/2023

You know how it is:

You have an amazing call with a potential new client. The chemistry between you, and the synergies of the work you’ll do together, are just right.

You’re excited about the work and the client. And they’re excited about the work and you. (This is why you do what you do!)

And now, you have to send your client contract.

And it all deflates.

The energy (and your enthusiasm) has now completely changed. The language and tone of the relationship has completely changed.

It doesn’t feel like the relationship you are so excited about anymore. It feels, well, icky. And awkward. And incredibly impersonal.

So . . you hedge around it, or hesitate awkwardly. You hold your breath that your client doesn’t recoil—or you send nothing at all.

You want to be clear.

You want to have the boundaries of your work and your team respected (even if that team is just you).

You want to stop leaking money by spending time, energy and resources on things that “crop up” that you did not understand to be part of the project, but the client did.

But it doesn’t seem possible—not without the legalese.

You’re not alone. (Nearly all of my clients have felt this way.)

And it doesn’t have to be this way.

Your client contract does not need to be a sticking point that derails your client engagement process.

It can create exactly the right bridge from talking about the work you’ll do together into doing that work together. It can establish a dynamic where the boundaries around your work are not crossed.

And, it can do it in a way that’s easy and feels good—and sounds like you.

That is what your client contract is meant to be.

And I’d love to work with you to create it. Message me at the link in the comments.

05/19/2023

What does your client contract actually do for your business?

05/17/2023

What does your client contract actually do for your business?

Your client contract values and cares for your client relationships—through clarity and boundaries.

Your client contract—which defines the agreements in your client relationships—is the container, the river banks, within which your business operates—and your magic happens.

It holds energetic and practical space for the blossoming and delivery of your work.

When it is clear and consistent—from the outset—it nurtures and grows relationships. It engenders trust. It even stokes the flame of creativity.

Your client contract creates a dynamic where the boundaries of your work and your team are respected (even if that team is just you).

It reduces—or entirely eliminates—leaks of money, time and energy from your business (and your life) by creating clear expectations and structures through which money, work and communication flow.

And it gives you an experience of being differently—fully rooted and present—in your work.

It does this through both the elements of the contract—and the energy you bring to it.

Which is why your client contract is most powerful in the making (and why you want an attorney who can craft a client contract that’s exactly right for you, practically and energetically, and can hold you in the process).

It is through the crafting of their client contracts that I’ve seen clients get the most clear about what they value, how they want to operate, what their business needs to actually deliver its promise and the relationships that support that (as well as those that clearly don’t).

And I’ve seen that transform their businesses.

If you want to discuss what that looks like for your business, I’d love to work with you. Message me at the link in the comments.

05/16/2023

Hi, I’m Rebecca Prien, Esq., Founder of Counsel to Creativity (which is finally on Instagram!).

My aim is to breathe air into the legal needs of your business, so they are easy and enjoyable—like a natural extension of your work—not a burden.

Because law has an energy—and a power.

It is a spiritual practice of care of your work and business.

It is a voice of boundary; and a container creator.

It is a locus of growth, transformation and release.
And when you, as a business owner, don’t take a look at it—and use it—you leak energy and power. Energy and power you could use to grow and expand and transform lives—and industries.

So, let’s take a look at it—and put it to work for your business—together, shall we?

05/15/2023

I had fun today shooting video for a new free series on the energetics + practicalities of client contracts.

It begins this Wednesday (link in the comments).

You’ll receive my on-demand client contract workshop (from 2021) immediately and the weekly series by email.

Counsel to Creativity

08/08/2023

07/28/2023

06/14/2023

06/07/2023

05/31/2023

05/26/2023

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