Arts & Entertainment Pro Bono Cases
Last Updated: Friday, June 13, 2025
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with VLA by taking on a pro bono case! If you have not yet attended a New Attorney Orientation, please click here for more information about volunteering with VLA.
Some cases may be on review with another attorney. As one case can only be on review with one attorney at a time, cases marked as “On Review” are not currently available. However, these cases may return to the list if not accepted by the reviewing attorney, so please indicate your interest so that your name may be added to the queue in the event the case becomes available.
To request a case, please email VLA at probono@vlany.org. Please indicate the case number in the email subject line.
Receive CLE credit for pro bono work
VLA is approved to provide CLE credit to attorneys who provide pro bono legal services through our organization. Eligible pro bono activity is limited to legal services performed within New York State to clients unable to afford counsel, and is not available to attorneys volunteering at a clinic.
Credit for pro bono legal services shall be awarded in the following ratio: one (1) CLE credit for every 120 minutes of eligible pro bono legal service. A maximum of ten (10) pro bono CLE credits may be earned during any biennial reporting cycle.
Newly admitted New York attorneys may earn pro bono CLE credit only for the purpose of carrying over those credits to the following biennial reporting cycle, in partial fulfillment of the pro bono requirement for experienced attorneys.
CONTRACT
15605 – On Review
Client, an independent film and television producer, seeks assistance with drafting contracts for three creative projects.
15277 – On Review
Client, a music producer, seeks assistance drafting a series of template music contracts for his clients.
14917 – On Review
Client, a musician/music label owner, seeks a volunteer attorney to draft a template agreement to use with music collaborators.
14909 – On Review
Client, a musician in an alt-rock band, seeks assistance with drafting a collaboration agreement with her bandmates, or potentially forming a limited liability company with them.
COPYRIGHT
15028 – On Review
Client, a musician, seeks an attorney to draft a rights transfer agreement to use with collaborators.
CORPORATE
15392 – On Review
Client, an independent film and television producer, seeks assistance with forming a limited liability company.
14809
Client is a for-profit company that provides a workspace for writers. The owner seeks assistance with closing the business and filing for bankruptcy.
DISPUTES
Contract Disputes
15424 – NEW CASE
Client, a visual artist, seeks assistance with responding to a demand for payment for production fees from an art gallery.
15333 – NEW CASE
Client, a picture-book author, seeks assistance with protecting her work and getting it published after facing termination from a literary agency.
14954
Client, an author, seeks assistance recovering the rights to his manuscript from his ex-publisher via arbitration.
14866
Client, a video editor and producer, seeks a volunteer attorney to assist with filing a claim and to potentially represent him in litigation to recover unpaid compensation for editing and production work he performed.
14807
Client, a visual artist, seeks assistance with obtaining payment for a damaged artwork that was part of a consignment and removing publications of his art pieces from the gallery’s website.
14744 – NEW CASE
Clients, a married couple, seek representation in a lawsuit filed against them in Westchester County in New York State Supreme Court. The suit was filed by an investor who accuses them of failing to deliver a distributable film.
14732 – NEW CASE
Client, a music producer, seeks assistance with receiving unpaid royalties from a publishing company.
14576
Client, a theater professional, seeks assistance with receiving credit and payment for work he did directing a play in Los Angeles.
14488
Client, a film director, seeks assistance with drafting a settlement demand letter to a producer in order to recover payment and directorial credit for a film he directed.
14353 – On Review
Client, a songwriter, seeks assistance with a dispute with a lender over the debt Client owes after the lender made an adjustment that multiplied the outstanding balance by over seven times the amount shown on prior statements.
13547
Client, a filmmaker, seeks assistance with receiving a credit for her work on a documentary.
13287 – On Review
Client, a film producer and director, seeks assistance with recovering pre-production costs from the co-producer’s estate.
11927
Client, a writer, seeks a volunteer attorney to assist in receiving payment for his work on a narrative manuscript.
Copyright Disputes
15552
Client, a filmmaker, seeks an attorney to draft a demand letter to a disgruntled Director of Photography that is attempting to infringe on Client’s copyright.
15060 – On Review
Client, a media student, seeks the assistance of an attorney to respond to a copyright infringement demand regarding an image he used on a website created for a class project.
14879 – On Review
Client, a musician, seeks legal assistance to stop the removal of his albums from a major music streaming platform due to alleged fake streams, and to recover lost royalties.
14813
Client, a musician and former member of a band, seeks assistance with recovering compensation for his contribution to the band’s success, both during his time as a member and following his removal from the group.
14708
Client, the younger son of an elderly visual artist, seeks an attorney to send a cease and desist letter to his brother to (1) stop him from making threats regarding possession of the father’s artwork, and (2) stop his brother from selling prints of his father’s paintings online.
14372
Client, a visual artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to represent her in a dispute involving both copyright and trademark infringement.
14196 – On Review
Client, a photographer, seeks an attorney to write a takedown letter to send to an online magazine for the unauthorized use of her photography.
13515
Client, a New York-based not-for-profit organization, seeks assistance with retrieving the sole remaining print of a deceased filmmaker’s film from its cinematographer.
12080 – NEW CASE
Client, a songwriter and musician, seeks a volunteer attorney to draft a demand letter and assist in negotiations to obtain sole authorship over a song written with a former bandmate.
9339 – On Review
Client, the co-author of a musical adaptation of a novel, seeks assistance with settling a dispute with his co-authors over ownership of the musical.
Other Disputes
15160
Client, a theater professional, seeks assistance with responding to a complaint filed in New York County Supreme Court alleging libel, defamation, tortious interference, breach of oral partnership, breach of covenant of good and fair dealing, and breach of fiduciary duty.
15139
Client, an actress, seeks an attorney to write a cease and desist letter to former classmates and several other individuals who have impeded her work opportunities in the theater industry.
14389
Client, a visual artist and sculptor, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a demand letter to a gallery for damaged and missing art pieces.
12442
Client, a sculptural artist, seeks a volunteer attorney to recover damages for the unintentional disposal of Client’s artwork by their graduate school.
EMPLOYMENT
14491 – NEW CASE
Client, a photographer, videographer, and content creator, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney regarding a dispute with her former employer over unpaid wages, ownership of her work, and a withheld W-2 form.
13183
Client, a musician, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to acquire a settlement from his employer for wrongful termination after his employer improperly changed his status from W-2 employee to independent contractor.
IMMIGRATION
14542
Client, a pianist and composer, seeks assistance with applying for an O-1B visa by June 10th, 2025, as her OPT expires.
14539
Client, a visual artist, seeks urgent assistance from a volunteer attorney to apply for her O-1 visa by July 21st, 2025, as her F-1 Visa is expiring.
13878
Client, a musician born in Germany, seeks assistance with her application for an EB-1A visa.
NON-PROFIT
15324 – NEW CASE
Client, a multi-disciplinary New Jersey arts organization, seeks an attorney to help dissolve their tax-exempt entity.
15249 – On Review
Client, a not-for-profit organization, is seeking assistance regarding the organization’s compliance with specific tax policies in order to maintain their status as a not-for-profit organization.
15069
Client, a non-profit performing arts organization whose founder is currently the primary source of funding, seeks assistance with analyzing the legal implications of a potential unwanted reclassification from a 501(c)(3) to a private foundation by the IRS.
14984 – NEW CASE
Client, two associated Connecticut not-for-profit organizations that advocate for architectural workers, seeks assistance with dissolution and reformation (and application for 501(c)(3) status) of one entity in New York, and re-application for 501(c)(6) status and registration of the other as a foreign entity doing business in New York.
14621 – On Review
Client, a not-for-profit film production organization, seeks assistance with the process of dissolution.
14508 – On Review
Client, an organization that provides community performances and education to the percussion community, seeks assistance with forming a tax-exempt entity.
14150
Client, a performing arts not-for-profit organization, seeks assistance with dissolving a New Jersey not-for-profit entity also using a foreign entity status in New York, and re-forming as a domestic New York not-for-profit entity.
14088 – On Review
Client, a not-for-profit organization that runs a competition for vocalists, seeks an attorney to amend their bylaws.
11244 – On Review
Client, the administrator of the estate of the founder of a not-for-profit dance company, seeks assistance from a volunteer attorney to form a new not-for-profit organization to hold the rights to the founder’s choreography.
PATENT
15550
Client, the inventor of a software application, seeks assistance with filing a continuation in part application.
TRADEMARK
15483 – NEW CASE
Client, an owner of a creative agency for Black women, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to file a notice of opposition against an applicant who has filed a trademark application with the same company name.
15303 – On Review
Client, the creator of a mobile app for sharing stories, seeks assistance with registering a trademark.
15297 – On Review
Client, a streetwear clothing designer, seeks an attorney to draft a cease and desist letter against a clothing brand in another state, and to assist Client in updating his trademark.
15231 – NEW CASE
Client, a filmmaker and producer, seeks assistance with filing a trademark application for goods and services related to her documentary film.
14585 – On Review
Client, a visual artist focusing on traditional art forms historically created by women, seeks assistance with registering trademarks for a logo and the name of her brand.
14489 – On Review
Client, an arts education consultant, seeks assistance with applying for trademarks for her consulting business.
14017 – On Review
Client, a recording artist and entrepreneur, seeks assistance with conducting a trademark search for multiple names they would like to use for their forthcoming businesses, and potentially with trademark registration.
WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES
15226 – NEW CASE
Client, a painter, seeks assistance with drafting a will, healthcare proxy, living will, and power of attorney.
15039
Client, a writer and songwriter, seeks assistance with drafting formal estate documents.
14857
Client, a musician, seeks assistance with drafting a will, living will, and power of attorney.
14849
Client, an actor and former fight director, seeks assistance with amending his will, living will, healthcare proxy, and power of attorney.
14309
Client, an experimental filmmaker and author, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a will, power of attorney, health care proxy, living will, and potentially a trust document.
14278
Client, a conceptual artist, seeks legal assistance in preparing a comprehensive estate plan, including a will, healthcare proxy, living will, power of attorney, and a trust for her real estate property and artwork.
14046
Client, a visual artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a will, power of attorney, health care proxy, living will, and a trust document for her artwork.
14003
Client, a former theatrical manager, seeks assistance with updating his will and drafting a power of attorney.
13863
Client, a visual artist, seeks assistance with probating her deceased husband’s will.
13206
Client, a musician, seeks an attorney to determine ownership of her deceased husband’s creative works because he died intestate.
12749 – On Review
Client, a photographer, author, and poet, seeks a volunteer attorney to draft a will, a living will, health care proxy and power of attorney, and to form a trust, if necessary.
12225
Client, the trustee of a trust created by a now deceased dance educator and performer, needs the assistance of an attorney to acquire the assignment of copyright to go with the assets assigned to the grantor’s trust.
11636
Client, the son of an actress and writer, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to recover his mother’s property from the estate of the executor of her will.
10506
Client, the administrator of her deceased husband’s estate, seeks a volunteer attorney to remove Client as the administrator and appoint her children as co-administrators.
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