Meet the Lawyer: Harold Littler, McKays Solicitors, Brisbane
The Arts Law Centre of Australia would not be able to achieve its mission of advising artists and arts organisations on their legal rights and obligations without the assistance of the lawyers on its panel of volunteer lawyers. Those lawyers donate their time to carry out some of Arts Law’s essential tasks, such as the delivery of its document review service (DRS). One of those lawyers is Harold Littler, Senior Consultant at McKays Solicitors in Brisbane.
Harold joined the panel of Arts law volunteer lawyers around two years ago, after the Arts Law Centre of Queensland, for which he had acted as volunteer advisor for about five years as well as President of the Management Committee, closed its doors due to lack of funding. We are particularly pleased that Harold accepted to continue providing his services to the arts community through Arts Law as the closure of the Arts Law Centre of Queensland caused an important increase in demand for our own services from Queensland based artists and arts organisations. In addition to the pro bono work he does for Arts Law, Harold Littler oversees advice given at the QUT Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic.
Harold Littler practices mainly in the areas of Intellectual Property (IP) and Entertainment Law. He is also a Registered Trade Mark Attorney so a large part of his IP practice relates to the registering and protection of trade marks.
On the Entertainment law side, Harold deals mainly with theatrical productions, which is not surprising given the personal interest he has in that area. Harold has appeared in numerous amateur plays and musical productions throughout Brisbane over many years – including an appearance with Michael Jackson in one of his Brisbane concerts. He just recently performed the role of Harry in a community production of My Fair Lady. Harold also used to do some professional TV and films but sadly the demands of a busy practice (and the requests for help from Arts Law which he seems unable to turn down) mean that he doesn't have time for such work these days.
Asked to recount his favourite and his worst experience as a DRS lawyer so far, Harold explained that they related to the same matter: A mother was negotiating with a USA agent to manage her daughter's singing career but after reading the proposed contract and making some enquiries it became clear that the agent was seeking payment of large sums of money with no responsibility to do anything for the payment and was probably a shonk. Harold felt very satisfied that he had saved the family from being ripped off, but couldn't help feeling sorry for the young girl whose hopes of an international singing career had been dashed.
Often clients need business acumen and negotiating skills that the lawyer providing the document review service can't provide.All the lawyer can do is point the artist in the right direction and hope that a little knowledge will enable them to negotiate from a stronger position.
Helping an artist get a fair deal is the main benefit Harold sees in the work he does on behalf of Arts Law. He believes that artists of all types are always so anxious to show off their talents that they tend to jump at any opportunity to do so and often without thinking through the consequences. This frequently results in artists tied in to performance, management or publishing agreements that operate to their detriment. He feels he has succeeded in doing something worthwhile when he can assist avoiding such a result.
Harold’s insight is a reminder of the importance for artists of informing themselves about their rights and obligations and getting legal advice whenever they are unsure about their position. This is particularly important when they are asked to enter into an agreement that might have far reaching consequences for their career. If you are an artist, Arts Law’s services , in particular its document review service , might be available to cover your legal needs.
Harold Littler, McKays Solicitors (Brisbane)