From In-House to Solo: A Creative Lawyer's Unique Perspective

• Author: Adrienne R. Fields
• Pages: 5-5

Published in Landslide, Volume 14, Number 4, 2022. © 2022 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion

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SECTION FOCUS

artists, I have clients in other industries too.

The new work on other intellectual prop-

erty matters is different and exciting. In a

sense, the going solo experience has been an

upshift with far more business responsibili-

ties and benets, such as more exibility to

spend time with my family. The time that

we have as parents of a child and as prolic

professionals is limited, and I think that it is

important to try to maximize both.

What has been both constant and grow-

ing stronger through these changes is my

experience with the ABA-IPL Section. I

was seeking to interact with attorneys from

different places and to hear about their

diverse viewpoints when I became involved

in the Section with its publishing effort and

as a Young Lawyer Fellow. As an in-house

attorney, I did not want to be isolated and

looked to the Section to ll this void. It had

never occurred to me how essential these

relationships would become later in my

career and would continue as I evolved.

My participation in the ABA-IPL Section

and other local bar organizations and their

many new opportunities have been extraor-

dinary during this time of transition. I have

avenues to write, speak, and participate,

and the enormous support of other lawyers

as I navigated the basics of setting up a law

rm. I have also been presented with many

new opportunities through ABA-IPL. The

collegial nature of our profession that I

have experienced throughout my career

and now in my new chapter has made me

proud to be an attorney and a member of

our ABA-IPL community. n

I

was certain that my career would involve

my passion for the creative arts, and that

made me approach the practice of law

from a different perspective than many of

my classmates. I studied art as an under-

graduate, earned an MA in art market

studies, interned at various arts organiza-

tions, and entered law school in September

2001. Immediately upon entering law

school, I saw the second plane pierce the

World Trade Center and encountered fall-

ing dust and debris in downtown Brooklyn.

As we all viewed images of death and

despair on TV, my classmates and I became

united in trying to improve the shaken

world through our legal careers. In the

ensuing years, we saw artists like Jenny

Holzer exhibiting activist art in her quest

for answers. I started searching for a career

in law that would allow me to help artists

spread their messages and aesthetics while

protecting their art.

My path took me directly to an intern-

ship in 2003, followed by an in-house

position in Artists Rights Society (ARS),

a licensing company that monetizes and

supports the intellectual property rights

of visual artists and estates from around

the world. I started working as the asso-

ciate counsel for ARS upon graduation

and worked my way up to director of legal

affairs, where I remained for nearly 17

years. As in-house counsel, I learned how

to practice law and become an effective

negotiator. I also became experienced in

and about the business of art, the individu-

alized concerns of artists and estates, and

arts advocacy. I handled countless licensing

deals and infringement matters on behalf

of both prominent artists (including many

icons whom I had admired throughout my

arts education) and virtually unknown

artists at the start of their careers. Perform-

ing work on behalf of these creators and

ensuring that their works and legacies were

being protected, credited, and paid for gave

me enormous satisfaction. I built relation-

ships with many artists and became familiar

with licensing clients and adversaries. This

helped to grow the business and expand

my participation in projects that included

commercial products; theater, lm, and

television productions; advertisements;

commissions of art installations; etc.

Over the past few years, I realized that

the position that I thought I would have for

my entire career was not right for my next

chapter for several reasons. Additionally, I

had read some articles on the “great resig-

nation” climate of the COVID-19 pandemic

and could relate to other professionals who

were reassessing their careers. I was also

aware of in-house lawyers who lamented

that once general counsel level is reached

there is no further job mobility. I believed

in the work that I was doing for artists

and thought that being an integral part of

the business could keep me interested in

working in-house. However, I also started

to think more seriously that I could use my

own abilities, talents, and resources to grow

my own law practice and enjoy the benets

of my hard work.

When I recently made the change from

in-house to solo and launched my own rm,

I essentially disrupted my normal routine

and became an overnight entrepreneur. I

realized that to be the most zealous lawyer

for my clients and to take total owner-

ship of my work, going solo was the right

decision for me. I would no longer have to

consider the changing vision of a corpo-

ration and could instead focus solely on

the individual concerns of my clients. I am

now responsible for the entire process, from

intaking a client to achieving that client’s

goals. While I still work with many visual

By Adrienne R. Fields

From In-House to Solo: A Creative

Lawyer’s Unique Perspective

Adrienne R. Fields, founder of The Law

Oce of Adrienne R. Fields, is a provider

of legal representation for intellectual

property law matters, contracts, and

collaborations across all media. She can

be reached at afnylaw.com.