Entertainment Networking: Corporate Structures for Creatives | JVS SoCal

When you work as an independent creative professional, writing, acting, producing, designing, crafting, or engineering, you are running a business. When you haven't created a corporation or LLC, you are operating as a "sole proprietor" and if you get sued by a customer your personal assets are at risk.  Creating the right kind of business structure can protect your assets and the assets of any investors you decide to take on to support your work. What you learn in this event will help you protect yourself as you pursue your career as a creative professional. 

Guest Speaker: Paul S. Levine has served the entertainment industry for over thirty-five years. Levine provides a wide range of entertainment industry legal services, including transactions (contract negotiating and drafting) and litigation, as well as being one of California’s few literary attorneys. 

Location & Parking: The West Hollywood Library located at 625 N San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069 is one of the most beautiful buildings in Los Angeles. It is located near San Vicente and Melrose, across the street from the Pacific Design Center.  Enter the parking lot from San Vicente. The entrance is right next to the library. From the parking lot's third floor you can walk across a ramp to the library entrance. The community room's meeting location is just to the right of the library's main entrance.  If you arrive a little early you can explore the library which is a great investment of your time.  The library opens at 11:00. Parking is free for this event. Remember to get you validation before you leave.

Topics addressed in this workshop:

• The risks of operating as a sole proprietor or partnership.
• Types of companies you can form and the differences between them: C-Corporation, S-Corporation, LLC
• The "Corporate Veil" and how it varies in who it protects based upon the kind of company you create.
• Overview of initial and annual obligations in setting up each kind of company (costs, taxes, etc)
• Why indie production companies are often but not always LLCs
• Why company formation documents, like an LLC's Articles of Organization or a C-Corp's Articles of Incorporation are important to get right.
• How writers and others with large bodies of intellectual property created over a long period of time protect their work. 
• What it means for an LLC or C-Corp Taxed as an S-Corp
• How lawyers pierce the corporate veil (criminal acts, illegal treatment of employees, etc)
• What happens if your "partner" in a shared copyright, or shared enterprise, divorces, goes bankrupt, or dies? Are their bad outcomes that can be avoided with the right agreements and/or company structures?

Understanding the information in this workshop can help you protect yourself and your personal assets, and it will help you understand the risks and obligations of companies you work with in the months and years ahead. 

Disclaimer:  This workshop is not designed to provide legal advice or guidance. It is offered as a starting point for creatives who want to understand some of the legal issues, risks, and opportunities that arise from their work and some of the common company legal structures creative professionals use to protect themselves, their creative partners, and their investors. 

JVS SoCal is a recognized nonprofit leader in the field of workforce development, offering a broad range of innovative programs to over 30,000 people each year and advocating on issues of public policy that impact the communities we serve.  Our mission is to empower individuals to achieve dignity and economic independence through sustainable employment.