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VLA Quote of the Day
"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
-Bruce Leevia Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, Esq.,
VLA's Associate Director
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Greetings!
VLA would like to give a special thank you to the attendees of our Summer Benefit on June 14. This event is always a highlight of our summer programming, and this year was no different. Guests enjoyed a wonderful evening of music, cocktails courtesy of Tito's Handmade Vodka, beer kindly provided by Brooklyn Brewery, delicious hors d'oeuvres, and the company of our generous volunteer attorneys and artists in residence, all in the beautiful Trespa Design Centre in SoHo. Thanks to all of those who came out to celebrate our pro bono honorees: Morrison & Foerster LLP; Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP; and Shearman & Sterling LLP. Congratulations to our honorees and thank you for your tireless efforts in promoting our mission to serve the New York arts community! We would also like to thank Raul Tovar for generously photographing the Benefit. We also want to congratulate our Summer Benefit Quiz winners! Curious about the answers to those tricky art and design quiz questions? You can find them here!
We are, as always, grateful to our supporters and friends, and would like to take this opportunity to give our warm thanks to:
- Proskauer LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and TimeWarner for generously hosting and staffing VLA's June clinics
- Full Figured Fashion Week for hosting VLA's Executive Director Elena M. Paul, Esq. at their opening panel
- Dumbo Art Center for hosting VLA's Associate Director Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento Esq. for a class on copyright for artists
- Center for Book Arts for hosting Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento's talk on moral rights, law as medium, and judges as art critics.
This month, join VLA for our Legal Issues for Photographers course. The course will be offered in two convenient locations, in Dumbo, Brooklyn on Tuesday, July 17, 2012 and in Hudson, NY on Sunday, July 29, 2012, and will provide an overview of the major legal topics that every visual artist and photographer should understand. The focus of the course is on underlying legal concepts and practical applications, and will provide participants with the tools to answer three basic questions: How do you protect your work? How do you exploit your work? How do you avoid legal issues and trouble?
We are also launching the new Legal Issues in Video Gaming course taught by Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento and Eric Tam. This course will be offered on Tuesday, July 31 from 3-6PM and will cover basic legal topics that will help participants start a business in this fast-growing industry, including common contract language, copyright and trademark rights and licensing pitfalls, and privacy policies and terms of use for your games and website.
Last but not least, if you are starting a nonprofit arts organization, don't miss our class! Join Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento on Wednesday, July 11 from 2-5 PM for our very popular Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax Exempt Status Workshop. The workshop will cover everything you need to know about starting a nonprofit organization and obtaining 501(c)(3) status. For July 11 workshop, attorneys can sign-up for a discounted rate of $50. The class includes 3 CLE! Register now!
Please note VLA will be closed on Wednesday July 4th, in observance of Independence Day. In addition, VLA will be closed on July 5th and July 6th. We will resume regular business hours on Monday July 9, 2012. Thank you!
Happy Independence Day!
Best,
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VLA featured news!
VLA Summer Benefit 2012
What a great way to start the summer, our benefit party was a success, with more than 150 attendees, enjoying fresh drinks and tons of fun with our design-inspired quiz. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all our friends that attended the party for taking the time to come out and have a talk with us. See photos of the event here, and if you played our quiz and want to see the answers, click here.
We would like to acknowledge TRESPA Design Centre for hosting us, Raul Tovar for taking great photos of the evening, and to Brooklyn Brewery and Tito's Vodka for their donation.
Thank you! 
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Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax Exemption Workshop
Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 2 - 5pm*
VLA Auditorium, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022 (Auditorium) * Map it!
Save now! Class fee is $50 for attorneys only! To celebrate the start of summer, VLA is offering all NY admitted attorneys an opportunity to take this class for only $50 (regularly $250). The course includes a PDF "How to" booklet. To register, please call 212.319.2787 x1, or e-mail our registration form to Diana at dsiozios@vlany.org
*This offer is good for our July 11th class only!
*3.0 CLE credits: 2 Professional Practice and 1 Skills (Approved for Non-Transitional and Transitional Attorneys)
This workshop provides valuable information about starting a nonprofit organization. State issues to be covered include articles of incorporation, bylaws, and the first organization meeting. Federal issues include the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and corresponding regulations, application for employer identification number, IRS disclosure rules, unrelated business taxable income, charitable contributions, and restrictions on lobbying.
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This month, VLA Associate Director, Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, Esq., shares his current essentials, from color and films to art picks and books. Check out his favorites!
Hue: Pretty In Pink
Hour of the day: High Noon
Perfume/cologne: Old Man and the Sea
Film: Birth of a Nation
Food: Human, All Too Human
Corner of NYC: 22 Acacia Avenue
Flower/plant/animal: Lord of the Flies
Actress/actor: Josey Wales
Musician/Band: Irréversible
Book: The Jungle Book
Artwork: The Death of Marat
Landscapes/places: 29 Palms
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VLA Individual, Artist and Attorney Membership
An Individual Membership entitles you to access to the VLA Legal Clinic, discounts on VLA programs, services and publications, and invitations to member events. In addition, Organizational Membership entitles individual employees and individual members of the organization to join VLA at a discounted rate of $100 per year.
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Everyone who is a VLA Member is entitled to enjoy: * Discounts on pro bono consultations (financial eligibility guidelines apply)
* Discounts on VLA seminars, workshops, MediateArt services, and selected arts-law related publications
* Access to free members-only Legal Clinics
* Invitations and discounts to our Summer and Fall Benefits
In addition, Arts Organization Members are entitled to: * Reduced Speaker's Fees for private classes
* Employees and members of Organizations who are VLA Members may join VLA individually at a discounted rate of $100 per year
* Reduced consultation and case list referral fees for eligible matters
................................................................................................................ Young Associate Members
 VLA's Young Associate Membership (YAM's) is a membership category exclusively for young lawyers and arts professionals generally in their 1st - 4th years of practice and career. Young Associate Members support VLA's mission of providing legal, education and business services to New York's art community and offers exclusive access to resources in New York's cultural scene.
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About VLA
Donate to VLA
VLA has seen an increase in demand for pro bono legal services, in-house consultations, legal clinics, and educational programming, and we expect 2013 to be even more demanding.
Would you like to support more VLA legal services and educational programming?
In 2012-13, your support will make possible:
- More legal services to low-income artists
- More legal services to arts nonprofit organizations
- More educational programs
- More scholarship programs
- Maintaining lower fees for legal services and educational programming
- More discounts on legal books for artists
Donations of any size will have a positive impact on our ability to provide vital services for artists and the arts community. $5, $10, $25, or $75 will help.
Library and Bookstore
VLA has a small but in-depth book library containing a wealth of materials and resources for artists, arts organizations, and legal professionals. Our books and materials cover diverse areas such as nonprofits, fiscal sponsorships, visual art, music, theater, dance, writing, film, internet, and digital media, all in relation to intellectual property, contracts, licensing, legal entities, free speech, employment law, and grant writing. Access to VLA's library is free and is open to the public Monday through Friday, 12 to 6pm.
Along with providing individuals and organizations with access to the VLA's Library, VLA makes available a wide variety of books for all arts disciplines and organizations. For a list of our publications and books available for sale, please visit our list. For book prices and shipping fees, please contact VLA at our Art Law Line at 212.319.2787, x1.
About VLA
Since 1969, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts has been the leading provider of pro bono legal services and mediation, as well as educational programs, publications, and advocacy to the arts community in the New York area and beyond. As the first arts-related legal aid organization, VLA is the model for similar organizations around the world.
Our Supporters
VLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal service organization supported in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and through generous gifts from corporations, foundations and individuals. View a full list of foundation and government supporters here; to view a full list of law firm and corporate supporters, click here.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts 1 East 53 Street, Sixth Floor | New York, NY 10022 P: 212.319.2787 | F: 212.752.6575 http://vlany.org http://askthelawyer.info |
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Tuesday, July 17, 2012
4 - 5pm
Brooklyn, NY
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WE
LOVE OUR
SPONSORS!
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A friendly message from VLA!
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