Legal advisors

The legal advisors on this page offer a variety of paid or specialist advice to artists and a number of other client groups.

For more information on their services, contact them directly or check their websites.  If you are a visual artist or craftsperson living and working in London, you are eligible for the Artlaw's free legal advice service and can send us your legal query via this site.

There are also a number of free legal advice services available to artists and craftspeople who are ineligible for Artlaw's services.

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  • 29 September Swan Turton
    address
    68a Neal Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9PA
    telephone
    020 7520 9555
    fax
    020 7520 9556
    email
    info@swanturton.com
    email
    nicholas.sharp@swanturton.com
    email
    cva@swanturton.com
    website
    http://www.swanturton.com

    Swan Turton, media lawyers, have a specialist Photography and Visual Arts section which offers legal advice and support to trade associations, arts organisations, galleries, businesses and individual practitioners in the visual arts. They provide specialised advice on copyright, moral rights and other intellectual property rights issues, including the new Artist's Resale Right; and on the specialised contracts required in the visual arts for commissions, licensing, residencies, funding and agency and gallery relationships etc. Main contact: Nicholas Sharp who is also a director of a-n The Artists Information Company.

  • 29 September The Art Loss Register
    address
    First Floor, 63/66 Hatton Gardens, London EC1N 8LE
    contact
    artloss@artloss.com
    telephone
    020 7841 5780
    email
    artloss@artloss.com
    website
    http://www.artloss.com

    Database of stolen works of art.

  • 29 September Briffa
    address
    Business Design Centre, Upper Street, London N1 0QH
    contact
    info@briffa.com
    telephone
    020 7288 6003
    fax
    020 7288 6004
    email
    info@briffa.com
    website
    http://www.briffa.com

    Briffa is an award winning firm of solicitors specialising in the business and law of intellectual property. Provides assitance to designers, developers, creative agencies, publishers, and those working in entertainment, technology and the internet. Other online services include www.designprotect.com the online resource providing legal solutions and management of intellectual property rights for the design industry.

  • 29 September Citizen's Advice Bureau
    website
    http://www.adviceguide.org.uk
    website
    http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk

    Citizens Advice Bureau are one stop shops where basic advice and information on your rights can be obtained. There are many centres around the UK and also an online advice.

  • 29 September Scopulus Ltd
    address
    39 Alma Road, St Albans Hertfordshire, AL1 3AT
    contact
    craig@scopulus.co.uk
    email
    craig@scopulus.co.uk
    website
    http://www.scopulus.co.uk/legaldocs

    Their website offers a number of legal documents that can be bought online with free instructions.

  • 29 September HM Revenue and Customs
    contact
    Enquiries.estn@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
    telephone
    0845 010 9000
    telephone
    0845 915 4515
    email
    VAT: Enquiries.estn@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
    website
    http://www.hmrc.gov.uk
    website
    http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/partnerships/

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was formed on the 18 April 2005, following the merger of Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise Departments. They offer advice on national insurance, statutory maternity, sick pay and tax matters, VAT, regulations on importing and exporting of art/ design products. It is your responsibility to register if you are self-employed, by telephoning your nearest office or on their website.

  • 29 September LayerLocator
    website
    http://www.lawyerlocator.co.uk

    Online listings of lawyers, searchable by speciality and services provided.

  • 29 September Finers Stephens Innocent
    address
    179 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5LS
    contact
    marketing@fsilaw.com
    telephone
    020 7323 4000
    fax
    020 7580 7069
    email
    marketing@fsilaw.com
    website
    http://www.fsilaw.co.uk

    Finers Stephens Innocent is an 80-lawyer practice providing a full range of high-quality legal services to corporate and commercial clients. The firm is able to provide cradle to the grave support through its eight departments (property, corporate, commercial dispute resolution, IP media, employment, personal injury, private client and family).

  • 29 September Farrer & Co
    address
    66 Lincolns Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LH
    contact
    enquiries@farrer.co.uk
    telephone
    020 7242 2022
    email
    enquiries@farrer.co.uk
    website
    http://www.farrer.co.uk

    Legal advisors specialized in all areas of relevance to museums and galleries:loans and acquisitions of objects, charity and trust law, museum trading, employment law, copyright, building and planning rules, sponsorship and fund-raising.

  • 29 September Russell Cooke
    address
    2 Putney Hill, London SW15 6AB
    address
    8 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4BX
    contact
    helpdesk@russell-cooke.co.uk
    telephone
    020 8789 9111
    telephone
    020 7405 6566
    email
    helpdesk@russell-cooke.co.uk
    website
    http://www.russell-cooke.co.uk/service-detail.cfm?id=1

    The Charity Team advises a number of arts organisations, from the Arts Council England to many small and newly formed charities, offering practical and cost-effective solutions to everyday problems. Also includes useful links to help you find trustees.

This article is from the Artlaw Archive of Henry Lydiate's columns published in Art Monthly since 1976, and may contain out of date material.
The article is for information only, and not for the purpose of providing legal advice.
Readers should consult a solicitor for legal advice on specific matters, and artists in London can get free online legal advice from Artquest