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Services of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Service Application Fee
Our PVLA service application fees* is $50-$75 for individual artists, $50-$100 for art collectives and $50-$175 for non profit organizations.
*Application Fees for PVLA pro bono services are nonrefundable.
For more details on our service application fees, please contact us.
→ PVLA Application Fee Hardship Policy and Waiver (pdf)
The services of the PVLA program address arts-related matters. The PVLA program staff can assist artists and arts and cultural organizations to determine which service best meet their needs, and help attorneys determine their level of involvement in PVLA services.
Check out our new brochure.
Legal Consultation
There are three types of legal consultation on arts-related legal issues provided by the PVLA program to the arts and cultural community.
Legal Lines: A Legal Line is a one-time-only telephone consultation between an artist or representative of an arts or cultural organization and an attorney to discuss an arts-related legal matter. In a Legal Line consultation the attorney provides legal advice – the attorney is not obligated to take any action on behalf of the client such as making telephone calls or drafting documents.
Legal Lines are available to artists and arts organizations. The average Legal Line consultation typically takes between 30 to 60 minutes. If it is not possible to resolve the issue with the arts client during one telephone consultation, the client will need to contact PVLA to set up a subsequent Legal Line.
Alternatively if the arts client wishes to contract with the attorney to do legal work beyond the scope of the assigned Legal Line, that engagement will not involve the PVLA program. In that instance the attorney will enter into a separate retainer agreement with the client and notify the client of the proposed charges for the additional legal work outside of the Legal Line consultation.
ArtFaxes: Like a Legal Line consultation, an ArtFax is a one-time-only telephone consultation on an arts-related matter between an arts client and attorney. ArtsFax consultations are available to an artists or arts and cultural organizations.
In an ArtsFax consultation an attorney provides a review of a one- to three-page legal document by a PVLA volunteer attorney, such as a draft agreement. The attorney will provide legal advice regarding the content of the document in question, such as suggesting additional provisions that would further protect the parties to the agreement and modifications to existing language.
If the client requests the attorney to substantially redraft a document, the work will fall outside the scope of the ArtFax consultation. The attorney will need to enter into a separate retainer agreement with the client and notify the client of the proposed charges for the additional legal work.
Full Service Representation: For matters that cannot be resolved with a single telephone call between a client and a PVLA volunteer attorney, the PVLA program provides Full Service Representation referrals. In a Full Service Representation, the client becomes a full-fledged pro bono client of the attorney, and the relationship is subject to all of the ethical and other requirements of every attorney-client relationship.
Types of Full Service Representation matters related to an arts-related matter include litigation, negotiation, document drafting and filing, and representation in court. Accepting Full Service representations is an exciting and valuable way for attorneys, particularly attorneys newer to the profession or to a particular practice area, to gain hands-on experience in areas such as copyright litigation and contract drafting.
Legal Lines, Art Faxes, and Full Service representations are available to artists or arts and cultural organizations that meet PVLA's pro bono qualifications. Under our current guidelines PVLA will provide these services to:
- Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations with an annual budget of $1 million or less
- Artists whose gross income is $35,000 or less per year ($55,000 for a married or cohabiting couple) with a $3000 credit per dependent
PVLA understands that many attorneys cannot accept litigation matters that could result in a substantial recovery for a PVLA client. PVLA expects that the PVLA volunteer attorney will (1) provide services up to litigation, including negotiation and settlement, on a pro bono basis, and (2) provide litigation services to the PVLA client on a reduced contingent fee arrangement basis.
Courtesy Attorney Lists
For clients whose needs are outside the scope of PVLA services (for example, where a client does not qualify financially for Full Service Representation or where the matter is not sufficiently arts-related), PVLA provides Courtesy Attorney Lists of attorneys practicing in particular subject areas who might be willing and able to accept a matter for a client on a fee basis.
The PVLA program does not endorse any particular attorney on the lists, is not involved in any way in attorney-client representations that arise out of the provision of Courtesy Attorney Lists and nor are attorneys obligated to accept matters referred to them in this manner.
Speaker's Bureau
PVLA finds attorneys to speak on a wide variety of legal topics for many organizations across the Greater Philadelphia Region. Click here to learn more.
PVLA Workshops and Continuing Legal Education Programs
The PVLA program presents a wide range of education programs, both for artists and for attorneys.
Click here for upcoming events.
Publications
PVLA maintains a library of publications on a variety of legal topics. Attorneys are encouraged to write pamphlets on topics of interest to them for circulation by the PVLA program. Click here to access our resources.
Questions?
Contact Miriam Dechant, Esq., Director of PVLA, at 215.790.3822 or mdechant@artsandbusinessphila.org.
