Make it Legal: Spotlight on ELLA

As an independent filmmaker (particularly at the early stages of his or her career), being confronted with option agreements, deal memos, copyrights, union contracts etc. can have you feeling a little like Chilli Palmer in Get Shorty,  but as much as you’d like all of the paperwork and legal jargon to disappear, they are an inescapable aspect of this industry.

Chilli (Travolta) and  Karen (Russo) make a deal in GET SHORTY

If you are strapped for cash and struggling through this material alone, there is an organization right here in New Orleans that can help.  The Entertainment Law Legal Assistance Project (ELLA) is a statewide pro-bono legal program for low to moderate income artists, offering legal clinics where Louisiana artists receive free legal assistance.  Headed up by supervising attorney, Ashlye Keaton, she and volunteers from Tulane Law School are there to assist you with copyright and intellectual property, contracts, and other civil law matters.

“What if I need major help or have follow up questions,” you ask?  Unlike many Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts programs which only offer 30 minutes of assistance, the ELLA Project can take your legal matter from concept to completion, and work with you until the matter is resolved.

ELLA clinics are held every Friday by appointment at the offices of the Arts Council of New Orleans, located at 818 Howard Ave., Ste. 300 as well as Tipitina’s Music Office Co-Op, located at 4040 Tulane Avenue, Suite 6000.  For more information on the clinic or to make an appointment call 504-523-1465 or visit the Arts Council Website to schedule an appointment.  So, stop crying over that non-disclosure agreement, and make an appointment today.

The ELLA Project is a partnership of the Arts Council, Tipitina’s Foundation, and Tulane Law School. Along with the project partners, ELLA is supported by grants from the Louisiana Bar Foundation and a Community Impact Grant from the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 1:40 pm. It is filed under Career, NOVAC Blog, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.