E. Kent Winward

Joe was dead. I don’t believe in ghosts, but there he sat in my office.

For a dead person, Joe was quite articulate. He also seemed quite real. Unfortunately for Joe, the credit bureaus Transunion, Equifax and Experian all said he was dead.

One of the classes first year law students have to take is a Contracts class. Contract law taught in law school covers the negotiation and requirements for making an agreement between two people. The phrase that is pounded into law students' heads is "meeting of the minds." The two parties to the agreement have to actually agree.

No one can understand what I say. I jokingly tell clients that if they could understand attorneys, it would be a lot harder for us to collect our fees.

Yet being an attorney is all about speaking a language that normal people don’t necessarily understand. The law aims for precision and specificity, but it often means confusion, even for the attorney.

When you are dealing with an attorney, the first thing you should do is immediately interrupt her (or him) if you don’t understand the words hitting your eardrums. I’ve been playing the lawyer game so long that words trip off my tongue and I don’t even realize that people have no idea what I’m saying. When you say, “based upon the DMI and liquidation analysis” often enough, you forget that it isn’t even human speech.

Those brightly lit, garish-looking storefronts that promise "CASH NOW!" and "NO CREDIT CHECKS!!!" are the purveyors of payday loans, or "deferred deposit loans," as the Utah Code prefers to call them.

The loans are usually for smaller amounts, between $50 and $500, but carry annual interest rates often exceeding 500 percent.

Do you remember your sixth-grade civics class? Probably time for a refresher, especially before you go to vote in November.

The executive branch of government (president and governor) enforces the laws. The legislative branch (Congress and state Legislature) creates the laws. The judicial branch interprets the laws.

Why is this important? Understanding this basic division of labor among the branches of government will allow you to make more informed decisions as a citizen and understand where responsibility lies.

My wife has a melodrama that she performs using her index finger as the lone prop. The heroine is represented by a high squeaky voice and the index finger placed on my wife's head like a bow. The villain banker has the index finger for a mustache. The hero has the deep voice and a bow tie.