A new legal group with deep Lexington ties is taking a new stance as defender of the arts.Kentucky Lawyers for the Arts (KyLA) provides referrals to a registry of about 150 attorneys who have agreed to offer pro bono legal services to qualified individuals and groups in Kentucky’s arts world.
“I have a background in the arts,” said KyLA co-founder and University of Kentucky law professor Brian Frye. “I went to art school at the San Francisco Arts Institute and worked in the art world in New York City before going to law school at New York University. I have a long-standing relationship with the arts community and did a lot of pro bono work, primarily for artists and arts organizations.”
Artists and arts groups often need help with legal dilemmas and may not know where to turn for help. Groups in larger cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco provide referral services for artists so they can reach lawyers willing to provide free assistance.
Now a Kentucky organization aims to provide similar resources.
Evan Smith, staff attorney for the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center in Whitesburg, Kentucky, is another KyLA co-founder.
“The organization fills an important gap between the lawyers who want to do something to support the arts and artists who may have very basic legal questions,” Smith said.
Smith says artists often face issues involving intellectual property, such as if someone attempts to copy their work. Artists also often want to know how licensing agreements should work. Another matter is artists trying to figure out relationships with galleries and online sites that want to sell artworks. Contracts are sometimes a head-scratcher.
“They have to figure out if they’re being ripped off in the contract,” said Smith.
A third area where artists may need assistance is understanding how they can band together to apply for grants from nonprofit organizations that support the arts.
“It’s the legal requirements for forming those organizations that could be intimidating for anyone who has not dealt with that regularly,” said Smith.
KyLA started slowly and has been building over the last two years. It identifies itself as a “lean” organization, operating entirely online. To keep costs low, KyLA doesn’t occupy a brick-and-mortar office and relies entirely on volunteer lawyers whose love of the arts spurs their involvement. KyLA signs up new attorneys all the time.
“We’re always happy to get more lawyers who want to get involved,” Frye said. “The more specialties we have, the better.”
One organization that sees the value in such a support network is LexArts, said its president and CEO, Nan Plumber.
“I think it’s a wonderful thing. Most of us who work in small arts organizations come to the job from the content or program side,” said Plummer. “Like many business folks, we don’t necessarily have a depth of knowledge about the legal issues that we routinely and extraordinarily face.”
LexArts is Lexington’s chief cultural development, advocacy and united fundraising organization for the arts. Known for its involvement in the annual Fund for the Arts, the LexArts Gallery Hop, Lexington Youth Arts Council and ArtScope, among other initiatives, LexArts provides programs and services to integrate the arts into the life of the community.
Plummer says many arts groups need legal advice about how to get started as a nonprofit or to establish themselves as a viable businesses. She mentioned the IRS forms that must be filled out to request nonprofit status and how daunting they can be.
Plummer also said new organizations may not know how to deal personnel issues, such as the hiring and fi ring of staff members.
“Let’s say you have an inexperienced board, or even one with experience but without a lawyer on it,” Plummer said. “You have to hire a CEO. You may need to draw up a contract. That can be a really important topic to manage.”
Plummer said a group like KyLA can save artists and art groups more than just money.
“Proper legal advice can save a lot of anguish and wasted time,” she said.