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Volunteer
Lawyers for the Arts
VLA
Application Forms
About
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA)
Volunteer
Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) provides pro bono assistance to low-income
artists and smaller arts organizations for arts-related legal needs.
The program is affiliated with the Allegheny County Bar Association
through the Pro Bono Center of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation,
which oversees a network of local providers of pro bono legal assistance.
The program...
- Provides
small and mid-sized arts organizations, and low-income artists,
with pro bono legal assistance for arts-related legal needs;
- Provides
rewarding opportunities for attorneys who enjoy involvement with
the arts wish to support the vitality of Pittsburgh's arts scene
through volunteer service;
- Promotes
cooperation, understanding and communication between the arts
and law;
- Increases
leadership on behalf of the arts among attorneys and law firms.
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Eligibility:
Arts Organizations & Individual Artists
- Organizations
with administrative budgets of $250,000 per year or less
- Individuals
with incomes less than $27,075 per year (+$9,350 for each additional
member of household
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Family
Size
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Maximum
Annual
Income*
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How
do you verify my income?
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1
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$27,075
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When
applying to VLA, we ask applicants to submit proof of income. Commonly,
applicants submit their most recently-filed tax return, and we base
eligibility on their adjusted gross income. Other forms might include
a W-2, disability statement or social security statement.
Organizations seeking assistance should submit an audited Form 990,
an annual budget or some other form demonstrating an annual budget
size less than $250,000.
*Represents 250% of the poverty level, based on
the 2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines. This percentage is the highest
allowable for attorney pro bono service. |
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2
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$36,425
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3
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$45,775
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4
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$55,125
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5
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$64,475
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6
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$73,825
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7
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$83,175
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8
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$92,525
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Eligible
requests can include (but are not limited to) copyright, intellectual
property, contracts, nonprofit compliance, nonprofit and 501c3
filings, facilities leases, insurance and tax matters and liabilities
of board of directors. Application fee: Members
free, non-members $15.00.
VLA individual artist or arts organization
application forms are located at the top of this page.
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Eligibility:
Attorneys
- Members
of the VLA are covered by the same malpractice insurance that
covers other ACBA pro bono programs.
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Eligibility: Attorneys licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania
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Desire to serve artists and arts organizations that otherwise
would not have access to legal expertise.
VLAs
join a volunteer pool of attorneys who are contacted to provide
services when artists or organizations contact the Greater Pittsburgh
Arts Council for assistance. The Arts Council maintains a database
of attorneys' practice areas to help make appropriate matches between
attorneys and clients.
VLA attorney application forms are located
at the top of this page.
Questions:
Contact David
Seals, Programs Manager, at 412.391.2060
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Artists
Find Pro Bono Legal Help
From the December 2006 Update Newsletter
When
Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society needed to revise its
by-laws last spring, Managing Director Patricia Tanner applied to
the Arts Council's Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) program.
Now Calliope has secured not only a fine-tuned legal document, but
a new board member too!
Margaret Cassidy,
Senior Deputy Attorney General, Pittsburgh Office, signed up as
a VLA with the Arts Council early last summer in hopes of helping
those in the local arts community who have no access to attorneys.
"I admire artists and thought that, because of their unique
abilities and outlook, they would be an interesting group to counsel."
She was soon matched with Calliope, and the partnership worked
so well that she chose to go beyond her VLA service and join its
board of directors. "Margaret was fantastic," says Tanner.
"VLA is a wonderful program that helps arts organizations
with projects that they may never have the funds to complete."
Cassidy is
one of many lawyers who volunteer their time to help artists in
Pittsburgh through Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, a program of
the Arts Council that provides pro bono assistance to low-income
artists and smaller arts organizations for arts-related legal
needs. Potential clients come to the Arts Council with a broad
spectrum of concerns, from copyright law to 501c3 incorporation,
and are then matched with lawyers with expertise in those fields
who can work to resolve them.
The VLA program
is available to individual artists with incomes of less than $27,075
per year, and to arts or cultural organizations that have an administrative
budget of less than $250,000 per year. Clients must reside in
Allegheny County. VLAs currently working with the Arts Council
represent firms including Reed Smith LLP; K&L Gates; Cohen
& Grigsby PC; and others.
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This program
is offered in partnership with the Pro Bono Center of the Allegheny
County Bar Foundation. To download an application, visit our website
at www.pittsburghartscouncil.org and click on "Consulting."
For more info contact David Seals, at 412.391.2060 x226 or dseals@pittsburghartscouncil.org.
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above applications are in .pdf format. If you do not have Adobe
Reader, click on the Adobe logo to receive a free downloadable
copy. |
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