
Legal Matters for the Arts
1 – 3PM
Are you an artist navigating the complexities of contracts, copyright, and creative rights? Join A4 and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) for this workshop designed to empower you with the legal tools needed to protect your work and confidently manage professional relationships. Whether you’re a visual artist, musician, filmmaker, or creator in any field, this workshop will provide essential insights to help you safeguard your rights and thrive in your creative career. There will be time for Q&A.
Topics Include:
- Contract Basics: Learn how to create contracts, key terms to include, and how to safeguard your rights in professional agreements.
- Copyright Essentials: Understand your rights as a creator, what copyright protects, and how to prevent infringement.
- Fair Use in Art: Discover when and how you can incorporate copyrighted material into your work under fair use guidelines.
This event is free and open to the public, but RSVP is required.
Accessibility:
If you require any accommodations including ASL interpretation, language translation, or large print, please email programs@aaartsalliance.org at least one week before the event. We will do our best to accommodate.
Recordings:
Access to a recording of the event will be available for up to 30 days. A4 will follow up with a link and access code.
About Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) is the leading legal aid and education organization dedicated to New York artists and its arts and cultural organizations. VLA strives to protect the artistic community’s livelihoods, businesses, and creative works through access to dedicated legal representation and focused education programs.
About Amy A. Lehman, Esq.
Before pursuing a legal career, Amy was a professional ballet dancer in Canada, Sweden, and the US. She later earned her bachelor’s degree from NYU in theater history and dramatic literature and worked in the theater industry as an assistant producer and theatrical agent, managing contracts and licensing agreements for US and international productions.
Her passion for supporting artists led her to the University of Michigan School of Law, where she specialized in copyright, trademark, and media law. She was also an editor for the Journal of Race and Law and president of the Entertainment, Media, and Arts Students Association.
Amy’s legal career has focused on general commercial litigation, covering art law, media law, employment, intellectual property, constitutional law, real estate, insurance, contract disputes, and more. A dedicated advocate for artists, she began volunteering with VLA as soon as she became an attorney.
She is a trained mediator with extensive experience in VLA’s MediateArts program and serves on the panel of mediators for the Southern District of New York. Additionally, Amy is a member of the Entertainment Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association and has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star (2014, 2016, 2017) and a New York Metro Super Lawyer (2018–2024).