DECEMBER 2007

CALIFORNIA LAWYERS FOR THE ARTS

Building C, Second Floor

What happens when an independent artist has a contract dispute with a large corporation? How do you create a contract in the first place? Are there alternatives to expensive lawsuits? What does a copyright cover? How do you find the right attorney for your case and your pocketbook? How can you learn what you need to know about law and the arts?

For artists, writers, and small nonprofit arts organizations entering the complicated legal world can be intimidating if not outright frightening and no doubt expensive. California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA) is designed to help.

Founded in 1974 by artists and attorneys and headquartered here not long after Fort Mason Center opened its doors in 1977, California Lawyers for the Arts provides several services. They also have offices in San Jose, Santa Monica, and Sacramento.
Alma Robinson, one-time city news writer for the Washington Star and Stanford Law School graduate, is the executive director of CLA. She came on board in 1980 after helping a Stanford professor create the first textbook on the special area of art and the law.

“We are an all-purpose, one-stop shop for artists and arts organizations,” Robinson said, pointing out that they do everything from arbitration to advocacy.

Referrals are a major portion of CLA’s work. If artists or arts organizations need legal advice, they can do so with a minimal charge. A member can get a 30-minute referral for $20. CLA has access to more than 100 attorneys — attorneys specializing in copyright and trademark protection, contract review and negotiation, business partnerships, and nonprofit organization issues.

Arts Arbitration and Mediation, a means by which conflicting parties can find mutually satisfactory solutions through third-party professionals and avoid the expense of a lawsuit and courtroom, was initiated in 1980. The CLA program was the first of its kind and has become a national model. Similar programs now exist in New York City, Houston, St. Louis, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, and Washington, DC.

Robinson also explained that the organization puts together seminars, workshops, and clinics for artists — this includes musicians, writers, filmmakers, etc. — and attorneys. Many of those classes and workshops are held in their offices or in meeting and activity spaces at Fort Mason Center.

In 1986 CLA and the San Francisco Arts Commission created ArtHouse. The joint program targets artists’ needs for affordable places to live and work. It is a clearinghouse for information about live/work space, studios, cultural space, arts organizations, and other information essential or at least helpful for survival in the arts world.

Young emerging artists and others interested in the arts aren’t ignored either. CLA provides “after-school job training to young people interested in the arts, and access to multicultural enrichment and mentoring programs.” For example, “Spotlight on the Arts” provides employment in the arts for low-income youth in San Francisco. Their after-school program is called CultureCore, which introduces youth to and involves them in a rich multicultural approach to the arts.

CLA stays abreast of all things that relate to arts law, including current issues, legislation, funding, tax policy, and artists’ rights, to ensure that artists and arts organizations have easy, affordable access to the information and representation they need.

— Ronald Tierney

Images:
Summer 2007 Spotlight On The Arts participants
Executive Director Alma Robinson, Photo: Bradford Gregory