Boston, MA, June 12, 2014 – The Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston has awarded the 2014 Robert B. Fraser Award for Pro Bono Excellence to Firm Partner Steven B. Levine and Associate Nicolas Dunn. Levine and Dunn accepted the award on June 10th, during the Council’s annual “Martinis and Masterpieces” event at the Royal Sonesta in Cambridge.
Levine and Dunn were recognized for their pro bono legal representation of the Council in a case certified to the Supreme Judicial Court arising out of bankruptcy case in which 13 artists challenged the trustee of a gallery for ownership and return of their work. The case involved the interpretation of a provision of the Massachusetts Fine Arts Consignment Act. Brown Rudnick filed an amicus brief for the Council arguing that the Act creates a strong presumption that an artist continues to own work delivered to a gallery unless s/he is paid on delivery, and in the event of the gallery owner’s bankruptcy, s/he can compel its return. The outcome of this case will have a significant impact on artists’ control over their work.
r. Levine commented, “Nick and I find it deeply gratifying to have been able to use our legal skills and the firm’s resources to help indigent artists protect the ownership and value of their artistic creations. Brown Rudnick has a long history of helping artists to achieve justice and supporting the mission of the Arts & Business Council. Nick and I are honored to receive the Robert B. Fraser Award in recognition of this work.”
This is the third time that Brown Rudnick has received the Robert B. Fraser Award. Through the Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest, the Firm and the Arts & Business Council have had a longstanding partnership. In 2012, Brown Rudnick Partner Andrew Strehle received the Robert B. Fraser Award for inspiring and leading the Firm’s Artists’ Fee Collection Initiative, which focuses on representing indigent artists who have not been paid amounts due for their artistic endeavors or whose loaned art work has been lost or damaged. In 2006, Brown Rudnick and Al Wallis, the Executive Director for the Brown Rudnick Center for the Public Interest, were also recipients of this distinguished award. Additionally, Brown Rudnick and the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts were recognized as the 2007 Corporate Philanthropy Partners of the Year by the Boston Business Journal.
About the Arts & Business Council
The Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston (A&BC) is a non-profit organization committed to strengthening the creative economy and the artistic community throughout New England. A&BC empowers individual artists and arts organizations and helps to foster the entrepreneurial spirit of the region’s cultural community by providing the professional services, tools, and business education that artists and arts organizations need to sustain their independence and success. Accordingly, the A&BC connects business, legal, and arts communities in a variety of settings, creating long-term partnerships and networks that help the New England cultural ecosystem to thrive and prosper. For more information, please visit www.artsandbusinesscouncil.org.
The Robert B. Fraser Award recognizes an attorney, firm, or legal services organization that shows a sincere dedication to servicing the needs of the cultural and artistic communities of Massachusetts.
About Brown Rudnick LLP
Brown Rudnick is an AmLaw 200 firm with offices in the United States and Europe. With relentless focus on the client’s objectives, the firm represents clients from around the world in high stakes litigation and business transactions. Our clients include public and private corporations, hedge funds, venture capital funds, private equity funds, multinational Fortune 100 businesses, and start-up enterprises. We also represent investors, as well as official and ad hoc creditors’ committees in today’s largest corporate restructurings, both domestically and abroad. Brown Rudnick is among the vanguard of law firms advising clients in times of unprecedented opportunity, capital convergence and cross-border uncertainty. The Brown Rudnick Center for the Public interest is an innovative model combining the Firm’s pro bono, charitable giving and community volunteer efforts. For more information, please visit www.brownrudnick.com.
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