• Individual Clients: Must demonstrate household income and assets below 300% of the federal poverty line (adjusted based on size and composition of household).
• Artist Collectives: Each member of the collective must demonstrate household income and assets below 300% of the federal poverty line (adjusted based on size and composition of that member’s household).
• Arts & Cultural Organizations: Must demonstrate an annual operating budget for the organization under $1 Million

An attorney assigned to a client for a “pro bono” project through PVLA will provide legal services to the client on a volunteer basis, and will not charge any attorney’s fees for time spent working on the case by either that attorney or others at their firm. This pro bono service typically also covers minor incidental expenses incurred by the attorney or their firm as a result of representation, such as costs associated with document printing or postage.

However, where the client’s goals for a pro bono project require payment of any significant third-party expenses – such as filing fees, registration fees or court costs – the client will be held responsible for these expenses. Clients should ask their attorney about any anticipated third-party expenses for the project at the initial meeting in order to make a more informed decision about how the representation should proceed. For a complete list of all filings fees and costs, visit the USPTO’s Online Fee Schedule (PA Patent clients pay the Micro-entity fee).

As a nonprofit legal services organization, PVLA charges a nominal Application Fee to our pro bono clients to help support the work that we do and to ensure that our services remain available to the arts community at large. These fees are adjusted based on the type of client (i.e. individual, collective or organization), as well as the level of service requested.  For organizations, the fee for Full Service Representation is adjusted based on the annual operating budget of the organization. These fees are non-refundable, and are not collected until a client’s eligibility for pro bono service has been confirmed. A breakdown of the various application fees is provided below:

• ArtFax or Legal Line Consultations – $50 per consultation
• Full Service Representation (Individuals) – $75 per representation
• Full Service Representation (Collectives) – $100 per representation
• Full Service Representation (Orgs. under $500k) – $175 per representation
• Full Service Representation (Orgs. $500k – $1M) – $250 per representation

*NOTE: Due to the financial impact of COVID-19, all PVLA client application fees have been waived for the foreseeable future. There is no fee associated with the Courtesy Attorney List, Educational Materials or Outside Agency Referral services