Do you need an Attorney? Generally, if you’re serious about a long term building of an arts or music career, it’s a good idea to have an attorney in your team of professionals. Someone who’s been working with you over time, and whom you can call and consult with for ten minutes when necessary, someone who can review an emailed contract and send back comments, someone who knows you and your goals and who can pick up the phone and represent you. Sometimes, often in fact, we don't need an attorney to handle a given matter or task. I'll let you know when that's the case. In a brief consultation, I can answer your questions and direct you to the resources you need to do a lot of things yourself, if you are inclined to do so. Sometimes you can do it yourself, such as copyrighting your own songs, registering them with a performance rights society, or drafting a simple agreement about next Friday’s gig (always get every agreement in some kind of writing!). Some folks might be too busy or might be overwhelmed by these tasks. Sometimes it’s easier, faster and more efficient to have an attorney handle it. That is analogous to why I let my mechanic do my tune-ups or change my carburetor (do they still build cars with carburetors? As a litigator, I know more about corroborators!). If you don’t have time to cut your own grass or clean your own house, chances are you don’t have time to learn the ins and outs of researching and filing your own trademark, for example, which is also pretty overwhelming and tricky. But… some folks can learn to do these things effectively. Its still good to double check with an attorney rather than find out later it was done incorrectly. In some situations, it is more advantageous to have an attorney represent you because you’ll have better bargaining power and less pitfalls (such as when clearing licenses, advising about and filing your trademark, or reviewing a contract). And, finally, sometimes, it is downright dumb to not have an attorney consulting with you as part of your team (such as when producing a CD, building a business, or film). And sometimes, it is dang crazy to not have an attorney helping you, (such as when negotiating a deal w/ a publisher, distributor, record label, etc., or even when you are hiring artists to work for you). Furthermore, sometimes you might need an aggressive advocate, or you and your disputant might need a level headed mediator. You can also submit to a binding arbitration and avoid litigation costs and time.
In any event, I want to make it easy and affordable for you to have an attorney on your dream team or to help ensure that your own DYI legal work is done correctly. There is nothing worse than saving a penny today, only to end up in expensive litigation for up to decades later (ever heard of John Fogarty? Jefferson Airplane? Billy Joel? Their early recording and or management agreements wound up in the courts for decades). Litigation, even if it resolves quickly out of court, is way more expensive than what you can afford and it ruins bands and destroys creativity. I wish I had a buck for every phone call I’ve fielded where the caller was facing expensive litigation and the hold up of a project for the indefinite future simply because the parties all operated without the help of an attorney at the outset. Even a one hour consultation would have avoided the problems in most cases.
Law Offices of Williamson & Young, PC 2006
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