How Volunteer Lawyers Work

The starving artist is a sad -- and sadly accurate -- stereotype. With the exception of major industries such as Broadway spectaculars, Hollywood movies and record labels, most U.S. arts organizations follow a nonprofit business model, relying on grants and charitable donations for income. Artists who work within such organizations receive less pay, on average, than their for-profit counterparts. In this business model, one legal issue can turn into a financial catastrophe.

Volunteer lawyers for the arts (VLA) help both organizations and individuals. As with poverty law centers, VLA groups may charge a nominal administrative fee. Other services work on a membership basis. For a fee, a nonprofit or individual becomes a member of the local VLA network. Membership carries the benefit of free or steeply discounted assistance, as well as discounted educational services [source: VLA of New York].

One of the most valuable services VLA groups provide is education. The Web sites of many VLA groups are like mini-law libraries, offering long lists of free resources, recommended reading and other information [source: VLA of New York]. Education can help artists prevent legal problems altogether -- which is always more cost-effective than letting a small issue grow into a big one that needs fixing.

Volunteer lawyers are not managers, agents or accountants. They do not shoulder the full responsibility for an artist's career or an organization's bookkeeping. They rightly expect artists and arts organizations to act as professionals. But in the specialized and often bewildering world of entertainment law, VLA groups can help.

On the next page, we'll look at how volunteering helps the lawyer.

Why would someone who can command hundreds of dollars an hour give his or her work away? Well, if you've ever volunteered, you understand the deep feeling of well-being that can come from helping someone else. You may also understand what it's like to have a sense of personal, philosophical or spiritual obligation to help the less fortunate. Many practitioners are initially drawn to law out of a deep sense of social justice.

Volunteering can provide valuable training for attorneys. Some volunteer law groups offer workshops and professional development for their members [source: VLA of Massachusetts]. A lawyer contemplating a switch to entertainment law, for example, can volunteer for a few arts groups to discover whether it is indeed a valid career option.

Some professional development opportunities begin even before an attorney has passed the bar. Some VLA groups work with law schools to provide hands-on case training for third-year law students. In Atlanta, for example, these students help victims of domestic violence [source: AVLF]. Students work side by side with practicing attorneys, become familiar with the local judicial system and help clients who are in perhaps the most difficult circumstances of their lives. The experience helps make the students better lawyers and strengthens their commitment to their communities.

In the case of VLA groups, many lawyers are passionate supporters of the arts. Offering professional assistance gives them a chance to become more intimately and directly involved with their arts community. The same opportunity draws thousands of CPAs to offer pro bono accounting services and business executives to offer management consulting via groups such as the Executive Service Corps [sources: Clearinghouse for Volunteer Accounting Services, ESCAN]. Volunteers may forge lasting ties with the nonprofits they serve, going on to become board members or donors.

Even if you don't qualify for pro bono legal assistance, most volunteer law groups provide referrals, many of which take income into consideration. The bottom line? If you need legal help, you can get it.

To learn more, visit the links on the next page.