The National Network of Legal Clinics for the Arts is a bold new initiative that aims to establish seven regional, independently-run legal clinics to provide legal information, education and/or advice to artists and arts organizations across Canada.

These clinics will work to address existing gaps in the delivery of legal information, education, and advice. It is a project of three collaborating organizations: Pacific Legal Education and Outreach Society (PLEO), Artist Legal Advice Services (ALAS) and Artists’ Legal Services Ottawa (ALSO).

In 2020, PLEO launched a needs assessment survey as phase 1 of the project. The needs assessment revealed that 94% of artists feel strongly they have unique legal needs and lack information and training on legal issues.

In addition, the survey revealed that the six legal clinics that currently exist in Canada primarily operate in urban centres, making their services essentially inaccessible to a significant proportion of the artistic population.

To respond to this need, the National Network is envisioned to become a unified and collaborative system of regional hubs providing increased access to justice for artists and arts organizations.”