What makes you different from other lawyers?
I’m a lawyer, but also a formally trained art historian. This interdisciplinary training helps me see the impact of small decisions on the longer trajectory of an artist’s career. To me, every creative career is a history in progress.
I speak artist.
I want you to take your time (and won’t bill you by the minute).
I want to hear your story and help you shape your future.
I want to help you, but also teach you how to help yourself.
What do you mean,“I speak artist”?
I spent over a decade studying artists’ writings with the world’s foremost expert on the subject. Artists don’t think, speak, or write like doctors, accountants, or civil engineers. Artists can be great healers, bean-counters, and builders, but they’re not likely to describe their processes the same way as their corporate counterparts.
I have decades of experience translating between art speech and legal speech, which means I know exactly which questions to ask, can interpret your responses accurately, and understand how to explain legal concepts in artist-friendly terms.
I’m not an artist – can I still work with you?
YES! Half of my client relationships begin with this question.
I practice art law. Artists seek my expert advice on complex legal questions. For example, negotiating a licensing agreement between two artists for use of a specific piece of intellectual property requires a great deal of time and individual attention. But most legal questions aren’t that complex.
By contrast, business setup is fairly straightforward. I have set up hundreds of new businesses because the same legal principles apply to a new ceramic studio and a new bookstore.
Setup involves filling out forms and following legal rules, but it’s really about identifying your values and building them into the structure of your business.
Our clients – whether artists, bakers, or fellow attorneys – hold similar values. (You can read about these values in the Manifesto.)
Still wondering if you’re creative enough to work with us? I suggest you schedule a Fit Call.
I don’t live in Asheville – can I still work with you?
de Vos Devine Law, PLLC is a virtual law firm. Our team is based in North Carolina, but we work with clients in many locations.
Get in touch and let us know what you need.
What happens during a Fit Call?
During a 15-minute Fit Call, we discuss your needs and my capacity to meet them. We determine whether your needs are best addressed by a service package or a custom solution. If we decide that we should work together, we plan for the next step in the process: the Protect Your Magic Intensive.
What happens during a the Protect My Magic Intensive?
The Protect Your Magic Intensive is a two-hour consultation during which you and I conduct a sweeping overview of your current legal structure, financial systems, tax status, contracts, and intellectual property protections. We will talk about your creative story, your immediate concerns, and your long-range plans.
You leave the Intensive with a written plan to follow. I can perform these services, or you can take the plan to another attorney, or you can use self-help strategies. It’s entirely up to you!
Intensives take place at our office in the River Arts District or via Zoom. (Plan on Zoom through May 31, 2021.)
How can you charge so much less than big law firms?
Keeping my overhead low allows me to keep your fees low.
The hourly fees you pay to a firm lawyer cover rent for a sprawling office, an army of secretarial staff, expensed meals, advertising costs, and much more. I don’t have a big office or an army of assistants. I won’t woo you over an expensive lunch. And I don’t need to pay for billboards or social media ads because I always have a waitlist.
What if my needs don’t fit into one of your packages?
When a client requires services that do not fit neatly into one of the package rates, custom services are available at an hourly rate.
Why don’t you offer litigation services?
Movies, books, and television tell us that “lawyer” means “litigator.” We hear “attorney” and think of Atticus Finch offering his closing argument or Annaliese Keating interrogating a witness.
However, many attorneys never set foot inside a courtroom.
Litigation is unpredictable, time-consuming, and expensive. It requires a large team, an appetite for the unknown, and a blank checkbook. And it accounts for very little of the true scope of the legal profession.
Did you know that 97% of civil cases are settled out of court? That figure does not account for all the potential claims resolved by attorneys before a claim is even filed with a court. The majority of disputes are resolved through negotiation, mediation, collaboration, and foresight.
My practice focuses on documents and practices that stop problems before they start. My job is to keep you out of court – and to keep our work together predictable, efficient, and affordable.
But I know a lot of great litigators. If you need to file a claim, I will connect you with one of the best in the business and can serve as a consulting attorney.
Do you offer pro bono services?
My pro bono practice focuses exclusively on Artist Legacy Clinics that provide low-income artists with free wills, advance directives, and other life planning needs.
These clinics are offered several times each year across North Carolina. Please sign up for our newsletter to be advised of the time and location of our next Artist Legacy Clinic.