Utah Lawyers for the Arts refers qualifying artists and art organizations to attorneys licensed in the State of Utah who have agreed to provide free or low-cost services in art-related matters. If you don’t qualify for low-cost legal help, we can also simply help you find a qualified arts attorney.
Areas where we can help generally include:
- Setting up and maintaining a nonprofit legal entity
- Obtaining formal tax-exempt status with the IRS
- Drafting and negotiating contracts for exhibition, performance, commissioned works, etc.
- Registering a copyright or trademark
- Dealing with online copyright infringement
- First amendment issues (censorship, defamation)
- Licensing of art
We also seek to provide regular educational programs so that artists can educate themselves on legal issues that affect their work and their business. See our Events page for details.
We are not a law firm. We do not, as an organization, provide any legal advice.
We also do not help anyone find a lawyer for matters that are unrelated to art, such as landlord-tenant matters, immigration, civil rights unrelated to art, family law, probate or bankruptcy. The Utah Bar provides resources (including referrals to low-cost legal help) for those needing legal assistance in many areas. As a prime example, please see the Utah Bar’s Modest Means program at https://www.utahbar.org/modest-means-lawyer-referral-program/.
Who do we help? Examples include:
- Visual artists in all media
- Independent filmmakers
- Sculptors
- Authors
- Dancers and choreographers
- Actors
- Musicians and singers
- Music groups, bands, and orchestras
- Museums
- Galleries
- Theatres
- And organizations dedicated to supporting any of the above
We are happy to provide referrals to qualified attorneys for any artist or arts organization. However, our key mission is to serve low-income artists and small arts organizations with very limited resources to pay for legal assistance, and who would otherwise be unable to obtain critical legal help. We work with attorneys who are experienced in arts-related areas. Many of them have expressed a willingness to provide free (pro bono) or reduced-cost legal services to qualifying individuals and organizations.
Please contact us at info@utahlawyersforthearts.org to tell us about yourself, your organization (if applicable), and the type of legal assistance that you are looking for.
[LINK TO APPLICATION FORM]