Each semester the Clinical Seminar in Law and the Arts provides a small group of Columbia Law School students a unique clinical experience and the opportunity to perform valuable public service. The Clinical Seminar is offered in cooperation with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in New York (VLA). VLA is a nonprofit organization founded to provide legal representation and education to low-income artists and nonprofit arts organizations.

The students in the Clinical Seminar gain significant knowledge of arts law and practice. They spend at least eight hours per week in VLA's offices. There they assist VLA's attorneys in researching and responding to clients' questions, participating in consultations, and helping with legal work being handled in-house.

The students also attend weekly classes taught by Columbia faculty, VLA staff attorneys, and experienced arts and entertainment lawyers. The classes are devoted to building the students' legal practice skills - such as interviewing and counseling clients and negotiating contracts - and their substantive knowledge of law in areas like trademarks and music rights.

The Clinical Seminar is taught by Teri D. Silvers, Esq., a former Director of Legal Services at VLA with extensive experience in counseling arts clients.