Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) is both a generic term for legal service organization

Organization

An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...

s located throughout the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and the proper name

Proper name

"A proper name [is] a word that answers the purpose of showing what thing it is that we are talking about" writes John Stuart Mill in A System of Logic , "but not of telling anything about it"...

of the organization in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Founded in 1969, that organization is the oldest VLA in the country.

Programs

Chicago-based lawyers for the Creative Arts

Creative Arts

Creative arts is the term used to describe different types of art. Specifically, to introduce fine art ideas, techniques, skills and media. It is generally used as an umbrella for Dramaturgy, Music , Graphic Arts/Cartooning, Performing Arts, Film and Publishing, Galleries and Museums and the Visual...

was founded in 1972. Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

Lawyers for the Arts (BALA) was founded two years later. When BALA expanded to Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

, joining with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts-Los Angeles, the organization was renamed California Lawyers for the Arts. Denver-based Colorado Lawyers for the Arts began operations in 1974, incorporated in 1979 and continues to serve that state's arts community.

Among the newer Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts organizations are New Jersey Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Inc. and Kansas City Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, both founded in 2004. More recent still, Tennessee Lawyers for the Arts, which opened in Nashville in 2005.

There are more than 30 VLA programs throughout the United States. Not a single organization, but rather a network united by similar missions, the organizations provide a broad range of free and low-cost legal services and educational programs addressing the needs of artists and arts organizations of all artistic disciplines.

Each VLA organization operates independently. Most are nonprofit organizations

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

, while others are housed with arts council

Arts council

An arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...

s, arts services organizations, bar association

Bar association

A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

s or business for the arts programs.

Services

Some of the programs provided include:

Legal services through referrals and, in some cases, on-site consultations; legal clinic

Legal clinic

The phrase legal clinic may refer to any private, nonprofit law practice serving the public interest. In the academic context, these law school clinics provide hands-on experience to law school students and services to various clients. Academic Clinics are usually directed by clinical professors...

s; alternative dispute resolution

Alternative dispute resolution

Alternative Dispute Resolution includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that act as a means for disagreeing parties to come to an agreement short of litigation. ADR basically is an alternative to a formal court hearing or litigation...

services, including mediation and arbitration; accounting services; law student

Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...

internships; advocacy

Advocacy

Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...

; educational programs on such topics as contract

Contract

A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...

s, copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

, estate planning

Estate planning

Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the disposal of an estate. Estate planning typically attempts to eliminate uncertainties over the administration of a probate and maximize the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses...

, tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

es and nonprofit incorporation; and publications on a broad range of topics.

Without these services provided by these organizations, many arts-related legal problems would go unresolved and many artists would be denied an opportunity to develop their creative abilities fully.

California

Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers Committee for the Arts
300 S. Beverly Dr., Ste. 201
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(310) 601-2422
http://www.bhba.org/

California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

Lawyers for the Arts (Sacramento)
1127 Eleventh St. #214
Sacramento

Sacramento

Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...

, CA 95814
(916) 442-6210
http://www.calawyersforthearts.org/

California Lawyers for the Arts (San Francisco)
Fort Mason

Fort Mason

Fort Mason, once known as San Francisco Port of Embarkation, US Army, in San Francisco, California, is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defense...

Center, Building C, Rm 255
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 775-7200
http://www.calawyersforthearts.org/

California Lawyers for the Arts (Santa Monica)
1641 18th St.
Santa Monica

Santa Monica, California

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...

, CA 90404
(310) 998-5590
http://www.calawyersforthearts.org/

San Diego Performing Arts

Performing arts

The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...

League
110 West C St. #1414
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 238-0700 x. 16
http://www.sandiegoperforms.com/

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

Lawyers for the Arts
c/o Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti
950 17th St., Suite 1600
Denver, CO 80202
720-272-0961
http://www.coloradolawyersforthearts.org/

District of Columbia

Washington Area

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

Lawyers for the Arts
901 New York Ave. NW P1
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 289-4440
http://www.thewala.org/

Florida

Legal Art
924 Lincoln Rd. #205
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 674-8278
http://www.legalartmiami.org/

Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

Lawyers for the Arts, Inc.
PO Box 2091
St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...

, FL 33731
(727) 823-5809
http://www.artslawfl.org/

Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

Lawyers for the Arts
887 West Marietta St. NW, Suite J-101
Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

30318
(404) 873-3911
http://www.glarts.org/

Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

Lawyers for the Creative Arts
213 W. Institute Pl.
Chicago, IL

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

60610
(312) 649-4111
http://www.law-arts.org/

Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

Creative Arts Legal League
20 N. Meridian St. #500
Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, IN 46204
http://www.indycall.org/

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
c/o David J. Bright
122 South Linn St.
Iowa City, IA

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...

522240
http://www.iavla.com/

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
818 Howard St.
New Orleans, LA

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

70113
(504) 523-2430
http://www.artscouncilofneworleans.org/

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
P.O. Box 17911
511 Congress St.
Portland, ME

Portland, Maine

Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...

04112-17911
(207) 699-4600
info@mainevla.org
http://www.mainevla.org/

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

Lawyers for the Arts
113 West North Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 752-1633
http://www.mdartslaw.org/

Massachusetts

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

249 A St.
Studio 14
Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, MA 02210
(617) 350-7600
http://www.vlama.org/

Michigan

ArtServe Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

17515 West Nine Mile Rd.
Southfield, MI

Southfield, Michigan

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.04% is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road...

48075
(248) 557-8288
http://www.artservemichigan.org/

Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

Springboard for the Arts
308 Prince St.
St. Paul, MN

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

55101
(651) 292-4381
http://www.springboardforthearts.org/

Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

KC Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts
115 W. 18th St.
Kansas City, MO

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

64108
(816) 472-3535
http://www.kcvlaa.org/

St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts
6128 Delmar
St. Louis, MO

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

63112
(314) 863-6930
http://www.vlaa.org/

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

Business Committee for the Arts
One Granite Pl.
Concord, NH

Concord, New Hampshire

The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

03301
(603) 224-8300
http://www.nhbca.com/

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
PO Box 1520
Laurel Springs, NJ

Laurel Springs, New Jersey

Laurel Springs is a Borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 1,908....

08021
(856) 627-0428
http://www.njvla.org/

New York

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
1 E. 53rd St., 6th Fl.
New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, NY 10022
(212) 319-2787
http://www.vlany.org/

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
PO Box 26513
Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

26513
(919) 699-6285
http://www.ncvla.org/

Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Program
Cleveland Bar Association
1301 E 9th St.
Cleveland, OH

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

44114
(216) 696-3525
http://www.clemetrobar.org/

Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

Northwest Lawyers and Artists
621 SW Morrison
Portland, OR

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

97205
(503) 295-2787

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
(Arts and Business Council)
200 S. Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

19102
(215) 790-3836 x1
http://www.artsandbusinessphila.org/pvla

Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
707 Penn Ave. #2
Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

15222
(412) 391-2060
http://www.pittsburghartscouncil.org/

Rhode Island

Ocean State Lawyers for the Arts
PO Box 19
Saunderstown, RI 02874
(401) 789-5686
http://www.artslaw.org/

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
1507 16th Avenue South
Nashville, TN

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

37212
(615) 298-9309
http://www.tnvla.org/

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

Accountants & Lawyers for the Arts
1540 Sul Ross
Houston, TX

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

77006
(713) 526-4876
http://www.talarts.org/

Washington

Washington Lawyers for the Arts
6512 23rd St. NW #320
Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 328-7053
http://thewla.org/

Wisconsin

Arts Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

PO Box 1054
Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, WI 53701
(608) 255-8316
http://www.artswisconsin.org/

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