Your creative business is growing, and it’s time to bring on a legal expert to help you.

So, how do you go about finding an attorney for your creative business? That’s what we are covering here.

The short answer is that finding a lawyer is no different than finding any other service provider. You want to find someone you know, like, and trust.

Below, we will discuss:

• the three places you can start your search
• why you’ll likely need to find someone in your state
• questions to ask potential attorneys
• an email template you can use to start the conversation with a potential attorney

Rather watch?

Psst…rather watch the short version? Then hit play below!

• See the list of all the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts organizations here
• Don’t miss the bonus email template below that you can use to start a conversation with potential attorneys
• Think that you might use LegalZoom rather than hiring an attorney? Then watch this episode of Ask Kiff to learn when it is (and isn’t) a good idea.
• Learn more about the artist’s Courtyard membership community here.

How to find an attorney

Most creative business owners eventually reach a point where the legal side of things feels too big to handle alone.

It happens all the time to my 1:1 clients, and recently happened to someone in the artist’s J.D.’s audience when a trademark copycat forced her to rethink going at it without the support of an expert.

Doing this research before you need it might seem pointless, but doing it now will save you stress when you are already in a heightened emotional state.

So, how do you find an attorney for your creative business? 

The first thing to remember is that it’s important to find someone who specializes in helping small creative businesses like yours, not someone who helps multi-million dollar creative companies, start-ups, or non-creative small businesses.

Because every kind of business has different legal challenges, and you want your attorney to know those legal challenges without you having to explain them.

The short version

You’re going to look like you look for any other service professional.

You’re going to find someone you know, like, and trust.

And how you will likely find that person is in your network.

So what do I mean by this?

Start your search with local brick-and-mortar shops

Your network is a great place to start to find an attorney for your creative business.

You’ve probably got businesses that you support that are local brick-and-mortar.

Brick and mortar locations are far more likely to need an attorney quicker than an online-only business or a small creative business.

And that’s because they’ve got employees, a lease, and they have other insurance requirements. Which means that they’re more likely to establish a relationship with an attorney sooner.

So that coffee shop you go to every single morning to grab your coffee. Next time you see the owner, say, “Hey, do you have an attorney that you love?” And they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Next, turn to your online networks

If that doesn’t work, you’re probably a member of Facebook Groups or other online groups where you can ask questions.

So ask in those groups, “Hey, do you have a lawyer you love?”

As an aside, my membership community, the artist’s Courtyard, is filled with business owners just like you. And they live across the United States. So they can point you in the direction of a lawyer they have worked with previously that might be a good fit for your creative business.

So what if you strike out with your network?

If you ask some brick and mortar businesses, if you ask in Facebook groups, and you don’t find anyone or find someone that you don’t jive with?

Then there are a few other places that you might look.

Next up, other common resources

My favorite place to point creatives next is to their state’s Volunteer Lawyer for the Arts organization.

They exist in most states and are another great place to start to find a lawyer for your creative business.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have one in your state, then here are three other common resources for finding an attorney:

• State or Local Bar Associations: Many offer pro bono or low-cost legal clinics and events specifically for local entrepreneurs.
• Local SBA Centers: These centers often host workshops or one-on-one sessions to help small business owners navigate legal issues affordably.
• Law School Clinics: Check with nearby law schools—many have clinics where law students, supervised by experienced attorneys, offer free or low-cost legal assistance.

Your last resort: a Google search

If that doesn’t work either, then you will have to turn to a Google search.

You’ll search for attorneys who specialize in:

• working with creative businesses
• working with writers
• working with photographers
• working with [fill in whatever you do]

Location, location, location

Another important thing to remember is that where your attorney is licensed matters.

The reason this matters is that lawyers are licensed on a state-by-state basis.

I am a practicing attorney. And I am licensed by the state of California to practice law.

A lot of attorneys have different rules about whether they will work with someone who is in a different state.

My rule is that I only serve California-based businesses or those who are in a dispute with a California-based business, even if you’re looking for copyright or trademark help.

However, other attorneys, usually when it comes to things like copyright and trademarks, will help anyone in any state because those are federal laws.

If you want help with:

• contracts
• LLC
• hiring/firing employees

Then you’ll want to find an attorney in your state because those laws can vary drastically from state to state.

Because you’ll want to make sure you find someone who knows the laws of your state.

Before you hire them, interview them

At this point, you have a few names of potential attorneys.

Once you’re at this point, you are going to interview them. (Just like you would a social media manager, VA, or graphic designer).

You want to make sure that they know and understand you and your business.

Your goal should be to find someone who helps similar businesses with similar matters.

• If you are negotiating a licensing agreement, they should be familiar with them and your industry.
• If you are having them set up your LLC, they should understand how to transfer the intellectual property in your creations from your existing business to the LLC.
• If you are having them help you bring on staff members, they should be familiar with the employment laws of your state.

Of course, it’s also important that you like talking to them. Because you talk to your attorney frequently.

Most lawyers’ websites use lots of legal jargon

If you visit a lawyer’s website, don’t expect a clean Squarespace template with lots of photos.

Instead, you’ll find it stuffed with legalese and full of bad stock photos.

Most lawyers haven’t gone to marketing classes to learn that websites should talk about how you help your clients. Instead, they are written like they are selling themselves to other lawyers.

Because of this, it’s usually easier to start with an email.

In that email, tell them a little about your business and what you are looking for help with.

And ask if this is something that they might be a good fit for.

And if they are, ask what their consultation process looks like.

And if they aren’t, ask who he/she would suggest that you talk to.

Email template you can use and customize

Here’s a template you can customize:

Questions to ask when interviewing potential lawyers

When you interview them, you should ask them questions like:

• What kinds of clients do you serve?
• What kinds of things do you do for your clients?
• What kinds of things would I need to talk to another attorney about?

For example, I don’t do any employment law. And I always send clients to an employment lawyer because I live in California. And California has tons of crazy employment laws.

And so I know it’s in the best interest of my clients to have them talk to someone who specializes in employment law.

Or even though I do copyright and trademark, I don’t do patents. So I refer my clients to someone who specializes in patents.

So you’ll interview those attorneys.

And maybe they only do intellectual property, which means you’ll need someone else for everything else.

You’ll want to find someone who can handle the kinds of topics that are most likely to come up. And know in advance when you’ll have to talk to someone else.

TL;DR

The short version is you will want to find an attorney who:

• works with creative businesses like yours
• is ideally in your state
• you know, like, and trust
• you want to spend a significant amount of time talking to

And that’s how you go about finding an attorney for your creative business!