Education > For Clients > VLA Workshops
VLA offers substantive legal and business classes and over a dozen additional outreach events for the arts community and nonprofit arts and cultural organizations throughout the year. VLA’s legal and business presentations included topics as diverse as immigration, estate planning, nonprofit incorporation and tax exemption, contracts, copyright and special genre-specific classes for visual artists, filmmakers and video artists, web designers, musicians and dancers, among others. VLA classes are often an artist’s first exposure to VLA, and play an important role in helping artists and arts organizations identify the important legal and business issues they face, and in teaching them how to protect themselves and their artistic endeavors.
Registration: To register for a VLA class please return the appropriate Registration Form to Joni Todd at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. You may either return the form by mail or fax it to . No registration will be complete without accompanying payment.
Current Class Offerings
Self Defense for Writers and Filmmakers with Mark Litwak, Esq.Nonprofit and Tax Exemption Workshops
Forming Your For-Profit Arts Business
Legal Issues in Contemporary Art: Copyright
Legal Issues in Film
Legal Issues in the Fashion, Apparel, and Design Industry: Creating and Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Starting a Fashion Business
Law School for Visual Artists
Starting Your Culinary Business
Ethics in Documentary & Reality-Based Programming
Self Defense for Writers and Filmmakers with Mark Litwak, Esq.
Date/Time: Friday, April 30, 2010: 10am – 5pm
Location:White & Case LLP
1155 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
* 8 New York CLE Credits Available (Professional Practice, Non – Transitional Only)
Writers and filmmakers need to understand their legal rights and how to defend themselves from those who may seek to exploit them. Production companies and distributors often know all the tricks of the trade, while writers and filmmakers know little about how to protect themselves.
This seminar explains how writers and filmmakers can prevent problems from arising by properly securing underlying rights, and by encouraging the other party to live up to agreements by adding performance incentives, default penalties and arbitration clauses. In the event of a dispute, participants learn what remedies are available to enforce their rights.
Related topics include creative approvals, typical compensation and terms of studio contracts, merchandising deals, and negotiating tactics and strategies. The seminar includes more than 100 pages of useful contracts, checklists, forms and materials.
Speaker: Mark Litwak is a veteran entertainment attorney with offices in Beverly Hills, California. His practice includes work in the areas of copyright, trademark, contract, multimedia law, intellectual property, and book publishing. Litwak also functions as a Producer's Rep, assisting filmmakers in the financing, marketing and distribution of their films. Litwak is the author of six books including: Reel Power, The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood (William Morrow, 1986), Dealmaking in the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 1994) (winner of the 1996 Krazna-Kranz award for best book in the world on the film business), and Contracts for the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 2nd Ed. 1999). He has also contributed articles for The Los Angeles Times, The Business of Film, The Hollywood Reporter, Moviemaker and The Independent. For more information about Mark Litwak, please see www.marklitwak.com.
To register, please complete the registration form.Fees:
Artists and Full-Time Students:
$75 on or before March 31, 2010
$100 after March 31, 2010
Attorneys (including 8 CLE credits):
$225 on or before March 31, 2010
$325 after March 31, 2010
Info: All registration fees are nonrefundable.
Due to the limited number of attendees, you must register in advance and receive confirmation of your registration from VLA. Questions? Please call Ben Brandow at VLA: 212.319.2787 x16.
Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax Exemption Workshop
"I really appreciated the seminar--it fleshed out a lot of the general information I had. The information was presented in a straight-forward and easy to understand way."
"This was extremely informative. It very much helped us decide non-profit vs. for-profit. Thank you."
"Extremely informative. I have new insight on areas I thought I understood. Well presented and Sergio knows of what he speaks. "
"This class was informational and great in aiding in my assessment of my approach to operating an Non-profit organization."
Classes will be held on the following dates and times:
Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 1-4 pm
Monday, May 10, 2010, 1-4 pm*
Tuesday, June 7, 2010, 1-4 pm
Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 1-4 pm*
Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 1-4 pm
Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 1-4 pm *
Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 1-4 pm
Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 1-4 pm*
Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 1-4 pm
Where: VLA Auditorium, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022
Fees: (there is a late registration fee of $10 if you register day of the class)
Arts Professional VLA Member: $75
Arts Professional Non-VLA member: $100
VLA Legal Professional Member: $150
Legal Professional Non-Member: $200
(Additional individuals from the same start-up organization
may register for an additional $25 ea.
*3 Transitional CLE credits (Available to All Attorneys), 2 Professional Practice and 1 Skills
This workshop provides valuable information about starting a nonprofit organization. State issues to be covered include articles of incorporation, bylaws, and the first organization meeting. Federal issues include the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and corresponding regulations, application for employer identification number, IRS disclosure rules, unrelated business taxable income, charitable contributions, and restrictions on lobbying. This workshop will also touch on the legal and ethical duties for board members; donor requirements; the new Form 990; intellectual property issues specific to nonprofit tax-exempt organizations; insurance; and employment issues.
VLA requires all applicants seeking Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax Exempt Status services through VLA to attend one of these workshops before a volunteer attorney can be assigned to them.
All workshops held at our VLA location, 1 East 53rd Street (first floor auditorium). For more information, please call Joni Todd at 212.319.2787 x10, or e-mail her at jtodd@vlany.org jtodd@vlany.org. To register for the Nonprofit and Tax Exemption Workshop please fill out and return this workshop registration form.
This program is funded in part by The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation Nonprofit Assistance Program.
Forming Your For-Profit Arts Business
This workshop provides valuable information about starting an arts-related business. Covered issues also include: For vs. Non-Profit incorporation, fiscal sponsorship, selecting and protecting business names; the legal and tax characteristics of LLCs an publication requirements, partnerships, and type C and S corporations; choice of jurisdiction; financing your business; employees and independent contracts; and insurance.
Fees: (there is a late registration fee of $10 if you register day of the class)
Arts Professional VLA Member: $75
Arts Professional Non-VLA member: $100
VLA Legal Professional Member: $125
Legal Professional Non-Member: $175
Classes will be held on the following dates and times:
March 18, 2010, 4-6 pm
May 13, 2010, 4-6 pm
June 10, 2010, 4-6 pm
July 15, 2010, 4-6pm
August 12, 2010, 4-6pm
September 16, 2010, 4-6pm
October 7, 2010, 4-6pm
November 10, 2010, 4-6pm
December 9, 2010, 4-6pm
All classes will be held at VLA, 1 East 53rd Street (auditorium), NY, NY 10022.
This class will be taught by VLA's Executive Director, Elena M. Paul, Esq. To register, please complete this registration form. All registration fees are non-refundable. For more information, please call Joni Todd at 212.319.2787 x10, or e-mail her at jtodd@vlany.org.
Legal Issues in Contemporary Art: Copyright
* 2.5 Transitional CLE Credits (Available to All Attorneys), 1 Professional Practice, 1 Skills and .5 Ethics
"Very creative and engaging presentation of important issues in copyright."
"Very well taught class with extremely useful information."
"Thank you - this was fun and Sergio is fantastic."
"Thank you Sergio. This was a great introduction to VLA. You made the subject very interesting even after a very long day."
When:
TBD
Where: VLA Auditorium, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022
Fees: (there is a late registration fee of $10 if you register day of the class)
Artist (VLA member): $15
Artist (non-member): $20
VLA Legal Professional Member: $130 (incl. materials)
Legal Professional Non-Member: $150 (incl. materials)
With the recent increase in copyright issues and lawsuits, visual and performing artists need to be aware of copyright laws and the legal issues that may affect their practice and the presentation of their art work. This class will focus on copyright law, with a primer on some of the more pressing legal concerns for artists today, such as digital media, the use of appropriated logos and images, fair use, as well as moral rights. This class will give an overview of a few cases that clearly illustrate the recent explosion of copyright lawsuits: Associated Press v. Shepard Fairey; Patrick Cariou v. Richard Prince; Gaylord v. United States. We will also discuss the legal issues related to blogs, websites, and website aggregators.
This VLA workshop is open to artists, arts administrators, and serves as an introduction to copyright law for admitted attorneys.
This class will be taught by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, Esq., VLA's Associate Director.
Legal Issues in Film
* 2.5 Transitional CLE Credits (Available to All Attorneys), 1 Professional Practice, 1 Skills and .5 Ethics
This class will provide an overview of the legal issues and common business arrangements used in film and television projects. In addition, option agreements for the acquisition of literary properties; distribution agreements and a comprehensive release for reality based television program will be discussed. We will also take a look at legal issues surrounding recent films such as Borat. Reading materials for the class will be emailed one week prior to the class.
When::
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
4 - 6:30 pm
Where:
VLA, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022 (Auditorium)
Fees: (there is a late registration fee of $10 if you register day of the class)
Full Time Student $20 (must bring valid student ID to class)
Arts Professional VLA Member: $25
Arts Professional Non-VLA member: $35
VLA Legal Professional Member: $130
Legal Professional Non-Member: $150
To register, please complete this registration form. All registration fees are non-refundable. You will receive a confirmation email one week before the scheduled date of the class. Info or questions? Please email Caroline Gabrielli.
(A limited number of 50% partial hardship scholarships for arts professionals are available. Please email Caroline Gabrielli.)
Legal Issues in the Fashion, Apparel, and Design Industry: Creating and Protecting Your Intellectual Property
When: September Date TBA
Where: TBD
In celebration of Fashion Week, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts is proud to present the first of a two part series addressing the latest legal issues facing the fashion, apparel and design (FAD) industry. The first in the series will take place on February 2nd and will consist of a panel of influential attorneys and law school professors who are at the cutting edge of this emerging field of fashion law. Moderated by Elena M. Paul, Esq., VLA’s Executive Director, panel currently includes:
• Barbara Kolsun, Esq. - Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Stuart Weitzman, LLC
• Theodore C. Max, Esq. – Partner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLC
The panel will provide an overview of the current state of intellectual property protections for the industry as well as discuss the remedies and enforcement mechanisms for those legal rights. Also, our panel of experts will address the ongoing efforts to expand US copyright protection for fashion design in connection with a comparative look at intellectual property protections abroad. Topics include trademark, patent, and copyright law, government enforcement and private remedies for counterfeiting violations and the policy issues and current advocacy efforts to expand copyright laws. All registration fees are non-refundable. For more information please contact Caroline Gabrielli.
Registration Fees:
Full Time Student $20 (must present valid student ID to class)
Arts Professional VLA Member: $25
Arts Professional Non-VLA member: $35
VLA Legal Professional Member: $130
Legal Professional Non-Member: $150
Starting Your Fashion Business
This workshop provides valuable information about starting a business in fashion, apparel, and design, including jewelry. This class will cover important issues that every fashion and design entrepreneur needs to know including: selecting and forming a business entity; using a business plan; financing; common issues in product development, production, marketing, and sales; regulatory issues and business licenses; branding, licensing, and intellectual property (copyrights, trademarks, and design patents); and contracts.
Fees: (there is a late registration fee of $10 if you register day of the class)
Full Time Student (Valid I.D.): $25
Arts Professional VLA Member: $75
Arts Professional Non-VLA member: $100
VLA Legal Professional Member: $125
Legal Professional Non-Member: $175
Classes will be held on the following dates and times:
May 18, 2010, 4:00 – 6:30 pm
September 14, 2010, 4:00 – 6:30 pm
Where: VLA Auditorium, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022
This class will be taught by VLA's Executive Director, Elena M. Paul, Esq. To register, please complete this registration form. All registration fees are non-refundable. For more information, please call Joni Todd at 212.319.2787 x10, or e-mail her at jtodd@vlany.org.
VLA Law School for Visual Artists
What Current Students Are Saying:I think this is great. I feel empowered. I have been showing for 10 years here in NYC. In the beginning I didn't know what I needed to know, no I wish I had done this earlier.
Love the dynamic of the class, love the professor's teaching method, love that it's addressed to artists, love that it's so giving. Love it!
As an individual with an educational and practical background in business, this is a great way to review information I already have and apply it to my new career choice.
Law and legal language can be overwhelming for many artists. Relationships with galleries, appropriation practices, damaged artwork, art world employment practices, and collaborations with other artists are just some of the issues visual artists face.
With this in mind, VLA has initiated a law course for contemporary visual artists that will make legalese understandable and manageable, giving visual artists an introduction to legal issues necessary to protect themselves and their art projects. This 7-week lecture series will cover intellectual property (copyright and trademarks); contracts, consignment agreements, and licensing agreements; basic business models (non-profit and for-profit corporations, LLC’s); studio assistant and preparator employment issues; artist websites; as well as issues in public art and commissioning agreements.
The classes will be taught by artist and lawyer, Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento (see bio below), with guest speaker Erin Donnelly, Special Projects Consultant for LMCC, speaking about issues in public art projects and commissions.
This class series and accompanying materials are free to visual artists. Class series will take place on the following dates:
Feb. 3, 2010
Feb. 10, 2010 - Rescheduled to April 7th
Feb. 17, 2010
March 3, 2010
March 17, 2010
March 24, 2010
March 31, 2010
April 7th, 2010
All classes will take place from 6 pm - 8 pm, and will be held at the VLA Auditorium (1 East 53rd Street, 6th floor, NY).
Fortunately, we received an overwhelming amount of e-mail registrations for this class. Unfortunately, this class is now closed. However, you may still e-mail Caroline Gabrielli to be placed on our wait list, but please keep in mind that this class is for visual artists only. Registered participants will receive a confirmation e-mail by mid-January. Thank you for your interest!
This lecture series is made possible by generous grants from The MetLife Foundation and The Dedalus Foundation. This lecture series is co-sponsored by NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance).
Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento is the Associate Director for Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in New York City, Adjunct Instructor of Clinical Law at Brooklyn Law School, and a mentor with the Kennedy Center’s Arts in Crisis program. His main areas of focus are copyright, public art, law and film, and nonprofit organizations, with a particular emphasis on contemporary art.
He received his BA in Art from the University of Texas-El Paso, and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. He was also a Van Lier Fellow at the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program in Studio Art in 1997-98. He received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 2006. He has taught art law, studio art, and critical theory at a number of universities and art schools, among them Harvard University, the University of Southern California, UC-Irvine, and CalArts. He has presented talks and participated in panels and symposiums at a number of institutions, including Dia:Beacon, The New York State Council on the Arts, Fordham Law School, The International Center of Photography, Pratt Institute, Harlem Arts Alliance, The Bronx Museum, The Yale School of Management, The School of Visual Arts, The Vera List Center for Arts and Politics at The New School, Columbia University School of the Arts, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Columbia Law School, Cornell Law School, Harvard University, College Art Association, free103.9, and the Centre Sociologie de l’Innovation, Ecole des Mines de Paris.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts & Friends of the FCI Presents: Starting Your Culinary Business
This workshop provides valuable information about starting a culinary business, including restaurants, bakeries, bars, and catering companies. This class will cover important issues that every start up business person needs to know including: the selection of a business entity, incorporation; financing, branding, licensing (including liquor licenses, cabaret permits, out door seating permits), taxes and regulatory compliance. Proceeds will benefit the Friends of the French Culinary Institute (FCI).
The Friends of the FCI is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable corporation that raises money for scholarships and financial aid to FCI career students based on financial need and ability to complete the program they desire. The organization was founded based on the belief that money should not stand between talented, motivated, deserving students and a first-rate culinary education.
When:
June 8, 2010, 4:30 - 7pm
September 7, 2010, 4:30 - 7pm
December 7, 2010, 4:30 - 7pm
Where:
VLA, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022 (Auditorium)
Registration Fees: (there is a late registration fee of $10 if you register day of the class)
Current FCI Student: $25
FCI Alumni: $50
Other Culinary Professionals: $100
Other: $100
To register, please complete this registration form. All registration fees are non-refundable. For more information, please call Elena M. Paul at 212.319.2787 x17. Class registration is being handled by Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA).
Ethics in Documentary & Reality-Based Programming
Join us for a conversation with lawyers and filmmakers about ethics in documentary and reality based programming. While formal standards of ethics exist for professional journalists, such standards do not exist in documentary and reality based programming. As a result, documentary filmmakers and producers of reality-based programs appear to decide ethical conflicts in a more ad-hoc manner. This conversation will cover what ethical norms exist and the issues that face every documentary filmmaker and other creators in balancing their relationships with their subjects and their viewers with practical concerns such as cost and ease of production. Our conversation will touch on the September 2009 study published by the Center for Social Media at the American University entitled “Honest Truths: Documentary Filmmakers on Ethical Challenges in Their Work as well as the Code of Ethics subscribed to by the members of Society of Professional Journalists; class attendees are asked to review that information in advance to get the most out of the panel.
Panel Includes:
Jon Alpert
Co-Founder, Co-Director, Video Producer, Reporter, DCTV
Maro Chermayeff
Founder and Chairman of the MFA Program in Social Documentary at The School of Visual Arts
Elena M. Paul, Esq.
Executive Director, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Peter Rienecker, Esq.
Vice President and Senior Counsel, Original Programming, HBO, Inc.
When:
Tuesday May 25th, 2010
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Where: DCTV, 87 Lafayette Street (Between Walker and White Streets)
Registration Fees: (there is a late registration fee of $10 if you register day of the class)
Full Time Student $20 (must present valid student ID to class)
Arts Professional VLA Member: $25
Arts Professional Non-VLA member: $35
VLA Legal Professional Member: $130
Legal Professional Non-Member: $150
*2.5 Transitional CLE Credits in Ethics (Available to All Attorneys)
To register, please complete this registration form. All registration fees are non-refundable. For more information, please call Joni Todd at 212.319.2787 x10, or e-mail her at jtodd@vlany.org.
(A limited number of 50% partial hardship scholarships for arts professionals are available. Please email Caroline Gabrielli.)
CLE Financial Hardship Policy
Full and partial scholarships to attend VLA’s Continuing Legal Education programs are available to persons with demonstrated financial hardship. To apply, applicants must submit a request, on letterhead if possible, stating the reason for their interest, proof of income or an explanation of their financial hardship, and a completed course registration form. Scholarships will be awarded on a space-available basis, with preference given to applicants in order of date submitted. For more information please view http://www.vlany.org/education/clecredit.php.
List of Courses Taught (note: not all courses are taught on a frequent basis)
- Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax-exempt Status
- Contract Basics for Arts and Entertainment Professionals
- LLC, “C” Corp, or “S” Corp: Choosing the Right Corporate Structure For Your Arts Business
- Managers in the Arts & Entertainment Industry
- Film School for Attorneys: Produce, Write & Direct Independent Feature Films
- Legal Issues in the Music Industry
- Intellectual Property (copyright, trademark, patents)
- Contracts (music, performance, literary, visual art)
- Legal Issues in Dance (including ownership of choreography)
- Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA)
- Digital Media and Intellectual Property
- Landlord Tenant Issues Affecting Visual Artists
- Differentiating Employee and Independent Contractor Status
- Taxes and Financial Planning for Artists
- Legal Issues in Filmmaking
- First Amendment: Free Speech, Defamation, Privacy, Right of Publicity
- Institutional Advancement and Grant-Writing for Nonprofit Arts Organizations
- Visual Culture and Law
- Law and Film