Larry Berglas

Why We Tell Stories

2011-04-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Read the beautiful poem....

Why We Tell Stories by Lisel Mueller

which can be found easily enough by looking for it.

Artists: You Can Understand Anything a Lawyer Can Understand

2009-04-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I never thought much about the law. I was a published freelance writer, a swimming teacher, a children’s camp program founder and director, a lifeguard, a freelance reader for the Book-of-the-Month Club, a guitar player, almost a commercial fisherman and almost in cooking school – among other experiences – before I arrived in law school at the age of thirty-three.

I grew up in a home where my Dad always was a school teacher during the day and a lawyer at home in the evening. The law was not scary or gray. His advice was appreciated. It was friendly and didn’t wear tasseled loafers.

I still do not think about the law all day long. I write and I play guitar and it’s the rare and unfortunate day that goes by when I miss either.

When I added law knowledge to my background I was a bit worried about potential corrupting influences. There were none. What was the big deal? There wasn’t one. The fact is I simply had learned some additional things that were helpful to me and to others.

Artists need time to pay attention, play, create and perform. I would include time for coffee in that list as well and occasionally the ocean beach at sunrise, depending upon your coast.

Legal knowledge is all about: 1. avoiding problems and 2. solving problems. There are suggested books and other resources in this blog that help you find that knowledge, especially for item 1 which eliminates concern for item 2. Some of this knowledge will bore you. Don’t be afraid of that little slice of boredom. It will save you time. It will save you money on legal fees. It will support your creative work.

One of my law school professors once said to an exasperated student who questioned the reason for learning arcane tax law concepts: “You can understand anything a lawyer understands.” The professor was right. If someone else can understand it, so can you.

Artists need to understand this too. I tell it to clients and I tell it to the students in my arts business law classes at Purchase College: “You can understand anything a lawyer understands.”

When I took the bar exam, I put my pencil down for a few minutes during the exam, looked up and watched the hundreds of other students taking the exam at the cavernous Javits Center in New York City. No one else looked up. I watched the proctors watch the exam takers. I felt the silent absorption. I observed the shapes of tense brows. I noted the nervous exam takers who had multiple rolls of toilet paper on their desks in case the bathrooms ran out. I listened to hundreds of pencils scratching in some kind of odd rhythm.

In that gigantic room, I realized that no one else was paying attention to the whole experience but me. I was somewhere joyous and special at that moment, legal knowledge notwithstanding.

Good Law Books for Artists, Writers and Musicians

2009-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

In 1984, my first published magazine article, Books About the Beach, appeared in Travel & Leisure. I was paid $500 and licensed First North American Serial Rights. A query for the article was written as a class assignment (the teacher/editor had told me the query was OK but the article idea, about old, classic beach books, was not publishable; I submitted it to Travel & Leisure anyway).

I sold Books About the Beach six years before I became a writer with a law degree. Though I’d had some business experience outside of the arts, I knew little previously about contracts, rights, and the legal or business of sides of the arts.

During the past eight years that I’ve been teaching Arts and Entertainment Law at Purchase College, I have used a number of books that I have found helpful for artists at work. Here are some of my favorites, accessible, easy to read and written for non-lawyers:

Legal Guide for the Visual Artist by Tad Crawford, Allworth Press

The Law in Plain English for Writers by Leonard D. DuBoff, Esq. and Bert P. Krages, II, Esq., Sphinx Publishing

Your Crafts Business, A Legal Guide by Richard Stim, Esq., Nolo

Legal Guide for Starting and Running a Small Business by Fred S. Steingold, Esq., Nolo

Music Law, How to Run Your Band’s Business by Richard Stim, Esq., Nolo

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury & Bruce Patton, Houghton Mifflin Company (The subject of this book is negotiation.)

Recipe follow up: I recommended Key Lime Pie with my last post and the recipe appears there. And here I suggest the following in addition: grilled short ribs with espresso rub. I just mix some good finely-ground espresso, a bit of dry mustard, cayenne pepper, freshly ground black pepper and salt. Coat liberally and let them sit for a while. Toss them on the grill; you can't go wrong. Some grilled fennel as a side doesn't hurt.

Arts Professionals: 4 Ways to Minimize Legal Expenses

2009-04-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

(plus regular blog feature bonus Information)

By Larry Berglas, Attorney at Law

You have legal questions but who has the time or money for lawyers?

Even when your art becomes a business, you want to spend your productive time and resources creating, composing music, playing out, telling stories, painting, rewriting, shooting photos, sculpting, putting on a new set of guitar strings, drinking coffee, watching the sunrise, procrastinating (there is nothing quite like productive procrastination) or simply keeping your mind at play and creatively engaged for whatever ideas come next.

At some point you will think about business and legal issues, copyright, contracts, licensing, doing the deal, etc. and you will have questions.

The challenge is to manage your time and financial resources efficiently. You also want to stay out of legal trouble.

In my Arts & Entertainment Law classes at Purchase College in New York, I encourage students headed into the arts to learn to spot potential legal issues and to learn what they can on their own. It saves time and money in the long run even if some amount of legal counsel becomes necessary.

If you can spot potential legal issues, you can help yourself avoid legal problems!

And remember, if a lawyer can understand it, so can you.

Here are my four suggestions:

1. Use the resources of your nearest Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts or other arts organization such as, among others in other states, the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (NYC), California Lawyers for the Arts (Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco & Santa Monica), Georgia Lawyers for the Arts (Atlanta), ArtServe, Inc./ Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (Clearwater, FL), Louisiana Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (New Orleans) and Arts Council of New Orleans (New Orleans), St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (MO), and Washington Lawyers for the Arts (Seattle).
2. Seek out local county and state bar association referral listings in your jurisdiction for lawyers (and ASK about fees) as some bar association referral lawyers charge reduced fees or no fees for an initial consultation which may be enough to answer even complicated questions you might have. (Through my local bar association, for instance, lawyers who accept a referral as part of participation in that service cannot charge more than forty dollars for the initial consultation whether in person or on the phone. That’s a good investment if you’re faced with a tough legal question.)
3. The publishers Nolo Press http://www.nolo.com and Allworth Press http://www.allworth.com are great resources for legal information and books on a wide variety of legal topics for the creative community. If you can spare a little time to learn, save even more time and money by understanding more about your own legal issues. Am I repeating myself?
4. Search resources such as twittersearch.com, Twitter.com and Linkedin.com where helpful links to information, articles and local contacts may be available.
5. Yes, I said four suggestions, but maybe you don’t need legal information or assistance right now. If you’ve read this far, however, then you deserve something good for your effort. Since life is always better with a slice of Key Lime Pie, here’s my favorite recipe:

Key Lime Pie

Crust

Mix together 12 graham crackers, crumbled (more if you like a thicker crust), ¾ stick of softened butter, and 2 or 3 tablespoons of brown sugar. Press and shape into a standard 9 inch pie pan and bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Let it cool.

Filling

Mix together 2 ½ oz. key lime juice (I like Floribbean™ bottled juice if I can’t find fresh key limes), 2 beaten egg yolks and 1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk. Pour into pie shell and put the pie in the freezer for a few hours UNBAKED (the way I like to enjoy it). When you’re ready to eat, let it thaw a bit if you like it softer.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Sure the eggs are uncooked (enjoy only at your own risk), but if that makes you nervous you can always find another recipe for baked key lime pie.

Disclaimer #1: This blog has been prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have a legal problem, you should only act on the basis of legal advice from your own lawyer. Browsing this blog or communicating with me through this blog or my website Artbizlaw.com or Twitter.com or Linkedin.com does not create an attorney-client relationship. Like all attorneys, I am admitted to practice in certain courts only and I am not admitted to practice before all courts in all jurisdictions here in the United States or abroad. Nevertheless, the key lime pie tastes great, however:

Disclaimer #2: I’m not a food scientist or a doctor and if uncooked eggs are an issue for you, please act accordingly.