Grab Some Popcorn! YouTube Video “A Day in the Life of a Lawyer: Drafting a Contract”

If you want a video title that will send the masses rushing to the exits, you couldn’t get much better than “A Day in the Life of a Lawyer: Drafting a Contract.” That’s the title of an 18-minute video on YouTube; I’ve embedded it for your edification.

It’s one of three videos forming part of “A Day in the Life of a Lawyer: Contracts Module,” a set of teaching materials product by Wolters Kluwer.

Although it dragged in parts, and the narrative arc was less than compelling, this video could prompt some interesting class discussion. Here are some snippets of dialogue that I found mildly amusing:

• Partner: (Speaking to Associate regarding having her draft an employment agreement for a client to use in hiring a new accountant) “It should only take a couple of hours.”

• Partner: (In recommending that Associate use as a model for the employment agreement a contract used to hire someone for a reality-TV series) “That’s a great place to start.”

• Partner: “I don’t want to rush you, but could you get me a copy of the draft contract by noon tomorrow?”

• Partner: “And I don’t want you to bill to much on this one. Robert does not like to pay for associates’ time.”

• Associate: (To Client regarding the force majeure provision in the draft employment agreement) “This is pretty standard.”

• Partner to Associate: (Said with a straight face) “We’ve started to move away from all the complicated legal language that no one ever understands. I think Connecticut may even have a plain-language statute. Did you research that?”

My version of a “Drafting a Contract” video would lack the pathos of having Partner, Associate, and Client floundering around to such an extent. Most of it would be devoted to Associate filling out a ContractExpress questionnaire developed by the law firm or by Koncision, with Client taking part via screen-sharing. The audience would be asleep by the three-minute mark.