What is LVFA
Who we are
Lawyers Volunteering for the Arts (LVFA) was set up in 2012 by a group of London law firms who wanted to offer pro bono legal support to the arts community.
LVFA aims to encourage solicitors to provide free legal advice to low income and not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations or community groups.
One of our aims is to ensure that we don’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to providing legal advice to the arts community. The resources listed below already provide a range of specialist services and support that in some cases covers areas LVFA is not working in, or may answer your question without the need for one of our volunteer lawyers. Click on the links to be taken to individual websites and see if they may be more appropriate for your needs.
Our approach
Pro Bono
"Pro bono" is taken from a Latin term, pro bono publico which means for the public good. The legal community uses it to describe the provision of free legal services to those unable to afford them.
If a lawyer offers to take on your request on a pro bono basis, they will meet with you, agree what they can do for you and get on with it. If you are represented on a pro bono basis, you will not be charged for the lawyers’ time.
A Lawyer's Perspective
Lawyers spend years at university and training on the job and we all believe that we have a responsibility to share that expertise with everyone, not just those who can afford it.
In this economic climate, we recognise that there are many members of the arts community that could benefit from free legal advice. As such our group has decided to try and bring these groups together.
Our lawyers support the arts – some collect, some acquire knowledge in order to fully appreciate a particular art form, some know nothing about it other than that they like it! We all, however, recognise the importance of maintaining a thriving arts community and this is a way of trying to ensure it thrives and grows.
Our numbers
We have grown exponentially since our pilot launch in 2012, and are constantly looking to grow the number of arts communities we help