Hrbek Kunstler. Where Art and Business Meet.

HRBEKKunstler represents independent artists and media companies, including publishers, TV producers, podcasters, digital news publications, filmmakers, writers, photographers, animation companies and other content creators, painters, art galleries, independent record labels, app developers, literary and talent agents, marketing and brand developers and more. Regardless of the type of deal at issue, our New York entertainment attorneys work with you to ensure that your objectives are met in your agreements before you sign.

More often than not, standard form cookie-cutter contracts do not reflect your business model, professionalism and values. We understand that first impressions are important and your written agreements say a lot about your brand. HRBEKKunstler crafts contracts to make certain that they represent who you are and resonate well with the people you want to do business with. We negotiate and draft customized artist agreements, publishing contracts, partnership and collaboration agreements, development deals, master service agreements, endorsement and sponsorship deals, option agreements, attachment agreements, composer agreements, performer agreements, venue agreements, co-production deals, director agreements, NDAs, various types of releases, and sales agent agreements and more.

• Keeping Ownership of Your Work. We will make sure you don't give away any more of your rights than are necessary to seal the deal.
• Explaining the Terms of the Contract. We will review the written agreement with you line-by-line to ensure that you understand exactly what it says, and carefully consider the implications of the contract terms, before you sign.
• Maximizing Your Creative Opportunities. We will suggest alternative contract terms that align with your career goals, especially as they relate to financial reward, exposure and creative control.
• Protecting Your Creative Freedom. We will identify necessary revisions of the contract terms and draft appropriate additional language to meet your unique needs.
• Negotiating the Best Deal. We will revise the terms with industry attorneys on your behalf, while you continue to focus on your craft.
• Helping you Get Started in Realizing Your Creative Vision. We will advise you on the corporate entity that is the best fit for your business, we will form the LLC or corporation for you and prepare the corporate governance documents to meet your goals and address your concerns.
• Protecting Your Business Relationships. We will create standard form contracts tailored to your needs for your agreements with other artists, partners, investors, vendors and industry professionals.

At HRBEKKunstler, we serve as general counsel to technology companies, creative business professional companies, and other startups and small businesses. Retaining us to assist you as general counsel is a cost-effective approach for a small business. We handle corporate formation and maintenance, advise on company structure, handle entity formation, draft corporate resolutions, advise on compliance with rules of corporate governance, draft agreements and provide guidance and advice on matters of business law. We have experience representing clients on both sides of the deal. For example, when handling a software license agreement, the software company may be concerned about ownership of the source code, confidentiality, and making sure they get paid. The software purchaser may be concerned about the software meeting their actual business needs, virus protection, performance milestones and approval rights. Both parties will be concerned about a clear scope of work and clearly defined deliverables and timelines.

Litigation can pose a significant threat to media companies, whether the litigation involves allegations of copyright infringement or libel. It is crucial to work with entertainment attorneys in New York who understand the law that applies in this niche. While HRBEKKunstler collaborates with litigators who specialize in intellectual property, First Amendment, defamation, and cutting-edge technology and contractual cases, we help our clients resolve disputes outside of court wherever possible.

There are various methods by which a dispute may be resolved. Litigation is one method. However, mediation and collaborative law provide alternative forms of dispute resolution that can save you time and money, and preserve greater cordiality than does litigation. Mediation and collaborative law proceedings can be used for arts industry-related disputes as well as family law disputes. Courts strongly favor mediation as a dispute resolution method. In mediation, a neutral third party, known as a mediator, tries to help the parties communicate and reach a solution that both parties find satisfactory. The mediator does not decide the dispute, but she facilitates communication that can help the parties reach an amicable resolution. Deborah Hrbek has considerable experience in mediating arts disputes, partner and other general business disputes and family disputes.

If there is a notable power imbalance between the parties, they may need separate representation. In that case, it may be appropriate to pursue a resolution through the collaborative law process. When using a collaborative law approach, our lawyer will work with you to resolve your dispute, but the opposing party must retain and work with a lawyer from another firm. Collaborative law helps the parties try to negotiate a settlement that is as favorable as possible to all parties.

HRBEKKunstler has been on the frontlines of the movement to legalize cannabis, dating back to medical marijuana’s legalization in New York through the Compassionate Care Act. We can advise and represent you in connection with regulatory, due diligence, and risk management concerns. In addition to representing entrepreneurs and investors involved in the legal cannabis and hemp industry, dispensary license applicants, cannabis rights advocates, and CBD business owners, we also represent clients who need assistance with contracts and corporate legal work. Laws that govern this area in New York include the Compassionate Care Act and Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

We can advise you on licensing and registration, business formation, corporate and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, financing deals, real estate matters, IP protection and branding, employment matters, licensing agreements, privacy matters, and vendor or ancillary business contracts. Our principal, Deborah Hrbek, was Secretary of the NYCLA Drug Policy Task Force and co-authored the committee’s groundbreaking 1996 report.

Whether you are an artist concerned about licensing your work or a film studio that wants to preserve as many rights as possible in a film, you should consult HRBEKKunstler. Unlike many other firms in this area, we encourage innovation and experimentation with emerging business models. We maintain a high standard of integrity and foster transparency in business dealings. We represent clients in New York City and around the world when they are doing business in New York themselves, or working with a New York company. Call us at (212) 480-2400 or contact us via our online form.