Law Students to Help Local Artists, Arts Organizations Meet Their Legal Needs
August 16, 2006
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore School of Law and Maryland Lawyers for the Arts have set up a free telephone help line for artists and arts organizations. UB law students will staff the phones, answer questions from artists and nonprofit arts organizations and assist callers in obtaining additional legal assistance.
The service is supported by a grant from the University’s Renaissance Scholars Seed Fund, an initiative designed to assist faculty in establishing projects that serve the community and enrich students’ education. Maryland Lawyers for the Arts will provide lawyers to assist the students and handle complex legal matters. MLA offers legal referrals, pro bono assistance and education opportunities to Maryland’s arts community and provides legal aid to low-income artists and nonprofit arts organizations.
UB Professor of Law Charles Shafer, who supervises the program, said students are trained to assist callers in a wide array of legal issues related to the arts, such as copyright, trademark, landlord-tenant relations, contracts and rules of incorporation.
Students working on the help line are members of the law school’s Entertainment and Sports Law Club. EASL member Jennifer Lewandowski, a third-year law student and student director of the help line project, said that many of her fellow students are enthusiastic about providing a direct service to artists in need of legal assistance.
“The response from the student body was overwhelming when we asked for their involvement,” Lewandowski said. “It’s great to see that so many law students juggling a busy schedule want to not only enrich their own law school experience, but also help artists within the community.”
The University of Baltimore grant will also support a series of “Lawyer’s Open Office” sessions this fall. In those sessions, MLA attorneys, paired with UB law students, will be available at the law school to answer questions related to the arts and law. Anyone will be able to meet with the attorneys without an appointment.
More information about Maryland Lawyers for the Arts is available at www.mdartslaw.org. The help line number is 410-545-0463.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.