What is California Lawyers for the Arts?
Where is California Lawyers for the Arts located?
Can I get legal advice by calling one of C.L.A.'s offices?
How can I get legal advice through your Lawyer Referral Service?
What if I need to continue working with an attorney beyond the half hour?
Can I receive pro bono legal help?
What if I have a problem in another state?
How do I become a member of California Lawyers for the Arts?
If I join up at one office, am I a member at other offices?
Are C.L.A.'s services available to me if I'm not a member?
Is California Lawyers for the Arts (C.L.A.) connected to Bay Area Lawyers
for the Arts (BALA)?
What is the annual budget and where does most of the money come from?
What types of training does C.L.A. provide?
Does C.L.A. offer audio or video tapes of workshop lectures?
What kind of community development does C.L.A. engage in?
How can C.L.A. help me locate live/work or studio space?
How can ArtHouse assist my arts group?
How do I get to ArtHouse?
What is California Lawyers for the Arts?
California Lawyers for the Arts (C.L.A.) is a nonprofit organization that provides artists of all disciplines, and arts organizations, with a wide range of legal services at fees that are affordable. Our Lawyer Referral Service operates statewide, and refers artists to attorneys for consultation on a variety of arts-related business problems, including copyright, contract review, business partnerships and nonprofit incorporation. Our Arts Arbitration and Mediation Service provides an efficient, economical and confidential alternative to litigation. Our educational programs include ongoing workshops and seminars, which provide legal education for artists of all artistic disciplines. ArtHouse, a housing referral and advocacy program, works jointly with the San Francisco Arts Commission and the City of Oakland Department of Arts Craft, provides housing advocacy and referral. In addition, C.L.A. offers publications, and resource libraries with information for artists and organizations. We also provide access to speakers and facilitators from our Speakers' Bureau. Through our Arts and Community Development Program, C.L.A. articulates a role for the arts in community development: through CultureCore, a consortium of organizations providing in-school and after-school arts education for youth, through Spotlight on the Arts which provides first-time employment for low-income youth people at arts organizations.
Where is California Lawyers for the Arts located?
California Lawyers for the Arts has four offices statewide. Our San Francisco office is located at Fort Mason Center, Building C, Room 255. The phone number for this office is 415-775-7200. The fax number is 415-775-1143. From the San Francisco office we offer Lawyer Referral Service for Northern California, Arts Arbitration and Mediation Service, ArtHouse, Educational Programs (with ongoing evening workshops), Arts in Community Development Programs, Resource Library, and periodic half-day and full-day seminars on a variety of art-law topics. The San Francisco office is staffed Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm.
Our office in Santa Monica is located at 1641 18th Street. The phone number for that office is 310-998-559o. The fax number is 310-998-5594. This office offers the Lawyer Referral Service for Southern California, Arts Arbitration and Mediation Program, Educational Programs (with ongoing evening workshops), Arts in Community Development, Resource Library, and periodic half-day and full-day seminars on a variety of art-law topics. The office is staffed Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm.
Our office in downtown Oakland offers educational programs, with ongoing evening art-law workshops, periodic half-day and full-day seminars on a variety of topics. The office is located at 1212 Broadway, Suite 834. The Oakland phone number is 510-444-6351, the fax number is 5io-444-6352. Oakland also offers job training program for youth through "Spotlight on the Arts." A small resource library is also located in Oakland.
Our office in downtown Sacramento offers our Arts Arbitration and Mediation Services, educational programs, with periodic evening art-law workshops, half-day and full-day seminars on a variety of topics. The phone number for that office is 916-442-6210. The fax number is 916-442-6281.There is also a resource library. The office is staffed Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Can I get legal advice by calling one of C.L.A.'s offices?
No. Staff at C.L.A. cannot provide legal advice, however, our San Francisco and Santa Monica offices can provide referrals to local attorneys through our Lawyer Referral Service.
How can I get legal advice through your Lawyer Referral Service?
Our legal staff in San Francisco and Santa Monica can connect you to a local attorney on our panel who specializes in the area you need. Panel attorneys specialize in diverse areas of the law, including intellectual property, contract law, immigration, family law, labor law, landlord/tenant issues, and other areas.
The service is available to members of C.L.A. and the general public. The service is comprised of a referral plus a half-hour consultation, by phone or in person. There is a referral fee of $20 for members, $30 to the general public.
Once our staff has conducted a brief interview with you, and received payment, it will take 3-4 business days to arrange your referral.
What if I need to continue working with an attorney beyond the half hour?
If you need to continue working with the attorney, you must independently arrange for subsequent counsel.
Can I receive pro bono legal help?
Individuals and organizations may qualify to receive pro bono assistance from an attorney on our panel. Requests are granted on the basis of need and availability. Requests should be made to Lawyer Referral Staff.
What if I have a problem in another state?
Our staff can refer you to any of the Lawyers for the Arts organizations located across the United States, where a local attorney on their panel can provide advice.
How do I become a member of California Lawyers for the Arts?
Anyone can be a member of California Lawyers for the Arts. Membership is made on an annual basis, with affordable rates for artists, students, seniors, and organizations. Join by filling out our form and sending it with your payment.
If I join up at one office, am I a member at other offices?
When you join California Lawyers for the Arts, you become part of a statewide organization, and can use any of the services at all of our offices-in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento and Santa Monica.
Are C.L.A.'s services available to me if I'm not a member?
Any individual artist or organization may use C.L.A.'s services, though by becoming a member, you can receive a discount on services that require a fee.
Is California Lawyers for the Arts (C.L.A.) connected to Bay Area Lawyers for the Arts (BALA)?
Yes. Bay Area Lawyers for the Arts was founded in 1974, by attorneys who saw a need to bridge the arts and legal communities. When BALA expanded to Southern California, joining with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts-Los Angeles, the organization was renamed California Lawyers for the Arts.
What is the annual budget and where does most of the money come from?
C.L.A. is supported by its members, by public agencies, private foundations, and by contributions from corporations and individuals. California Lawyers for the Arts has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the Hewlett Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank, the Clorox Foundation, the City of Oakland Department of Craft and Cultural Art, the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, the Sacramento Metropolitan Art Commission, P.G.& E., and many others. The annual budget for last fiscal year, 99-00 was $ 690,063.
What types of training does C.L.A. provide?
C.L.A.'s offices offer affordable, ongoing workshops on a variety of art-law topics, such as contracts, copyright and business issues. In addition, we offer periodic half-day and full-day seminars, which provide more thorough education. These include our annual "Relax with Tax" tax preparation workshop, as well as seminars on the music business, non-profit incorporation and housing issues for artists.
Our Arts Arbitration and Mediation Program offers periodic three-day mediation training, and features noted experts in the field. This training is valuable for those interested in becoming a mediator, or for anyone who can benefit from honing skills of listening, negotiating and communicating.
C.L.A. also provides training to low-income youth and adults through our Arts and Community Development programs. Youth gain first time experience working in the arts through "Spotlight on the Arts" programs in San Francisco and Oakland.
Does C.L.A. offer audio or video tapes of workshop lectures?
Not at this time, though workshop lectures can be audio or video taped, but only at the discretion of the speaker.
What kind of community development does C.L.A. engage in?
Our Arts in Community Development Program focuses on job training in the arts industry for low-income youth and adults.
C.L.A.'s summer job program for youth, Spotlight on the Arts, places young people in San Francisco and Oakland in first-time jobs in the arts. In collaboration with youth and arts organizations, C.L.A. provides skill-building workshops on conflict resolution, communication, career training, and college preparation. Since its inception in 1993, over fifty diverse organizations have taken part as internship sites, and Spotlight on the Arts has provided job experience in the arts for over 300 young people.
Through CultureCore, is a collaborative of arts organizations that provide school-age children in San Francisco with multi-cultural enrichment through in-school and after-school programming. CultureCore provides oppportunities for young people to participate in the visual and performing arts at many sites throughout San Francisco. Participating organizations have included the Bayview Opera House, BRAVA! for Women in the Arts, Chinese Cultural Productions, Cultural Odyssey, Kulintang Arts, the Mexican Museum and the Performing Arts Workshop. The program includes an annual showcase of young artists' work.
How can C.L.A. help me locate live/work or studio space?
Through ArtHouse, a program of California Lawyers for the Arts and the San Francisco Art Commission. ArtHouse serves artists in the Bay Area with a variety of services including a housing hotline, technical assistance, information and forums.
Information on ArtHouse programs and services can be found on the web at www.arthouseca.org.
How can ArtHouse assist my arts group?
ArtHouse provides technical assistance to arts origination on topics such as location and developing space, zoning and building code requirements, lease negotiations, organizational structures, and creative financing; we also provide referral to attorneys, nonprofit lenders, government agencies, development consultants and real estate professionals.
ArtHouse organizes workshops and seminar that address issues of concern to artists, art organizations, governmental officials, owners, and developers of live/work space.
ArtHouse is located in San Francisco, at 1360 Mission Street.
Webmaster: Josie Porter
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