WELCOME

Founded in 1985, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts is a nonprofit organization that provides lawyer referral services and pro bono legal assistance to income-eligible artists and arts organizations.

WELCOME

“In a difficult artistic environment, MdVLA not only gives you what’s promised, a free use of their services, but continues to support clients long after the first visit. It’s comforting to know there are true advocates of the arts in Maryland.  MdVLA works on a personal level to understand your project and to match you with the most suitable advisors.” –Filmmaker Rob Fiks

Film

“MdVLA has provided us with the means to navigate the basic legal terminology and decision-making that we need to operate as a company. Having lawyers who care about the arts community means artists can spend less time worrying about legal issues and more time enriching the cultural experience of our city.” –Dylan Koehler, Managing Director, Baltimore Rock Opera Society

Dance

“It is a challenge for independent artists to protect their work due to the complexity of intellectual property law, and the expense to adequately secure protections. The unique aspect of MdVLA’s model, working with experienced legal professionals…”—Paulo Gregory, creator of the Nature Form Community Bench, the first in a line of products aimed at teaching previously incarcerated individuals how to make functional works of art

Art

“This album would not have been possible without the legal expertise and advice of [MdVLA volunteer] Frank Morgan. Throughout the production process, Frank has offered invaluable support and encouragement, and I am deeply grateful to him and to MdVLA for connecting us.”–Soprano Jessica Bachicha

Sing

For more information about MdVLA or any of the topics contained in this web site, or for any comments, questions, or suggestions relating to this website, please contact us

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Latest News

  • Monday, May 6: Mind Your Business in Easton, MD

    Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (MdVLA) and PNC Bank are teaming up with Maryland Citizens for the Arts to bring a free workshop on legal and financial literacy for artists to Easton, MD., on Monday, May 6. “Mind Your Business,” a workshop aimed at giving artists some of the essential legal and business information [...]

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New Name, Look & Home

Maryland Lawyers for the Arts has been helping Maryland artists since 1985, but some people were still unclear about its mission. Is it a group of lawyers who like art? Well, yes, but that’s not all. It’s a group of lawyers (and business leaders) who like art so much that they volunteer their time, energies, and expertise to help artists. We couldn’t function without our volunteer lawyers and we wanted to make that clear. So we added the word to our name—hence, Maryland VOLUNTEER Lawyers for the Arts. Which led us to our new acronym and logo—Md|VLA. Which led to the need for a new and improved web site—where you are now, thanks very much to Steven Seebode. And, which coincided with our real world move to a new office in the amazing new community of nonprofits at Union Mill. We’re grateful to all the people who ‘ve made and continue to make it all happen.