Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Client: Lawyers for the Creative Arts
Format: 8.5″ x 11″ 32-page program book
The 400-member Lawyers for the Creative Arts provides free or low cost legal services to artists and writers in the Chicago area. For their annual benefit, they put together a program book to showcase the work of the attorneys in an effort to increase donor interest. Ryan Du Val and Anna Seifert were two of the artists we profiled.
Sample: Artist Profiles
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Ryan Du Val
Ryan DuVal came back from a trip to Italy with his parents last summer with a new appreciation for the arts. So when he arrived at Northwestern University, and looked up at the bland, institutional white ceiling of his dorm room, he let the muse – with a little help from house paint and the Internet – move him.
By the time he was done, Ryan’s rendition of Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel was getting him more attention than he’d ever expected, from the top administration to The Letterman Show.
“The university used my painting as an excuse to enforce an old policy that no one had ever heard of – all dorm rooms had to be bone white,” Ryan explained. After exhausting every avenue on campus, Ryan reached out to the Chicago legal community.
He called the Art Institute. He called the A.C.L.U. He called almost every law firm in Chicago, many of which refused to help because they had a lawyer on staff who had Northwestern as a client. One lawyer finally gave him the name of L.C.A. Patsy Felch, of Banner & Witcoff, could help.
In an eleventh-hour appeal to a stand-in emergency judge, Patsy successfully argued the Visual Artists Rights Act, under which nobody is allowed to copy, deface or destroy an artist’s work. Her efforts in front of the judge brought the university to the table to negotiate.
“One of the most wonderful things about Ryan’s case was that he brought in the factual situation that fit so beautifully within the law,” Patsy said. “That so seldom happens. When we went into court, it was so clear he was going to win.”
In the end, Ryan’s painting stayed up, at least until the end of the school year, which was all he’d wanted in the first place.
“They tried to play hard ball with it and they ended up looking pretty silly,”Ryan said of the university.”But I wouldn’t have had a chance if it weren’t for L.C.A.”
Anna Seifert
The recording world has the dubious reputation – deserved or not – for the kind of people it attracts to become managers and producers for young artists.
Anna Siefert met one of those four years ago when, then 17 years old, she moved from Milwaukee to Chicago to pursue her career as a rapper. A so-called manager heard her perform and offered her a contract that looked too good to be true. It was.
With guidance from Chicago entertainment attorney Laura Grochocki and L.C.A. Director Howard Arnette, Anna steered clear of that manager, and of a few others who came her way, learning to talk the talk of an artist who knows her way around the industry.
“They explained to me about copyright laws, about how to get my lyrics copyrighted in the first place, about publishing and about the music industry in general,” she said. “I am like thank God. I am so thankful for them. I feel so lucky.”
Anna continues to rap when she gets the chance, performing at her school, Columbia College after her beginnings in bars and clubs in her hometown. But during the day, inspired by an old friend of the family who is deaf, she’s studying to be a sign language interpreter.
Anna still calls upon her attorney to provide that sharp eye for bad guys, or at least bad contracts. “I’m still getting contracts from other managers and talking to other record companies, and they’re providing the legal assistance. I keep in contact with Laura about every week, and if something important comes up and she’s not there I talk to Howard.”
Anna sings the praises of L.C.A. comparing their excellent services with an expensive lawyer. “Better, they protect artists and their creativity,” she says. “That lets the artists get on with their work.”
“I’m working on finishing my demo. I just want to put stuff out there and let it get heard. I’ll always be rapping.”
And Laura’s going to do her best to make that happen. “I’m making sure she’s aware of the business side of the industry,” she explained. “On the flip side, I’m directing her to reputable producers with track records, who are legitimate and have a name in the industry.”