•   (971) 350-8516
  •   nicole@crescendolegal.com

Crescendo Legal knows creative people get busy. Why should you have to meet a lawyer in person? That’s why we are the first virtual music law, creative business law, and art law firm in the Northwest. That’s right. You can take care of your creative law legal needs directly from our handy online client portal. Get documents, sign contracts and ask your lawyer questions.

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The Story of Crescendo Legal

When I started out as an Attorney, I worked for other firms, as most new attorneys do. However, I knew I didn’t like what I was seeing (and doing). I barely got to spend time with clients, as the goal was to get as many as possible. I had to bill my time hourly and meet a quota each month. Finally, when clients hired me, it was all about getting the work done as quickly as possible and not developing a relationship with them at all. In fact, that would have been frowned upon!

Several things occurred that led me where I am today. First my cousin died and I saw the impact that not having a plan in place had on his family. Second, I began realizing that my mother was aging and still didn’t have an estate plan in place because she was overwhelmed by the traditional estate planning process. Finally, I realized I wanted to be a different kind of lawyer.

I started my own firm and began to do things differently. For one thing, I don’t charge any of my clients hourly. Everything is a flat fee. There are no

hidden fees or anything that they don’t know about in advance. No more charging for every phone call and email! In addition, I decided to make my practice about my clients. After all, estate planning affects not only you, but your entire family. Therefore, my practice should be about you and the legacy you want to leave behind. I want to take the fear out of the process and make life easier for those you leave behind. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I wanted estate planning to be about more than documents and “who gets what.” When you die, you should be able to leave behind not just your money and property, but also your values and your ethics and your stories. That’s why my practice includes this as part of your estate plan. I make a special video or recording where you share what you want to leave behind to your family. I also gift you a special memory book where you can write your stories and share them. Believe me. This becomes much more valuable than money or property after you die. In fact, I wish my family had something like this from all of the members we have lost over the years. Instead, we just have memories.

I’m only a phone call away when you need me.

60-minute call for Current Clients
30-minute call for Current Clients
20-minute call for Prospective Clients
20-minute call for Other Inquiries

Creative Business Law

STARTUPS

Business Formation. Owner’s agreements. Initial Financing. Intellectual property protection and licensing.

FREELANCERS

Work-for-hire and employment agreement drafting and review. Copyright and trademark protection and search for creative work.

CREATIVE BUSINESS OWNERS

Employee and independent contractor issues. Commercial leases. Contract drafting and review. Brand Managers-Trademark and trade dress protection and infringement.

WEB DEVELOPERS

Domain name and cybersquatting issues. Defamation and privacy concerns. Trademark, copyright, and trade dress infringement and protection.

ADVERTISING AGENCIES

Disclosures and disclaimers. Sweepstakes and contests. Intellectual property infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition.

SCREENWRITERS

Nondisclosure agreements and submission releases. Writer’s service agreements. Joint authorship collaboration agreements and assignments. Rights acquisition and purchase agreements.

AUTHORS

Copyright application and infringement. Negotiation of grants of rights, royalties, and other publishing contract provisions. Legal advice and counsel. Need help with your book proposal?
Check out Propose My Book!

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Business formation. Permissions, model releases, contracts, and licensing agreements. Copyright registration and infringement.

VISUAL ARTISTS

Legal advice for sculptors, painters, and other artists. Copyright registration. Licensing for reproduction and other rights. Contract drafting, review, and negotiation for sales of art.

FASHION DESIGNERS

Legal advice. Protection for elements of apparel, accessories, and footwear, trademarks, and trade dress.

ACTORS

Contract drafting, review and negotiation.

MODELS

Intellectual property rights. Dissolution and formation of relationships between models, agencies, and clients. Privacy rights.

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Business formation. Employee and independent contractor/work-for-hire agreements. Copyright and trademark protection and licensing.

SMALL PRESS PUBLISHERS

Publishing contracts and reprinter agreements. Employer and employee issues.

PRODUCERS

Cast and crew hiring and employment contracts and legal issues. Film licensing and distribution rights acquisition agreements. Music licensing.

ILLUSTRATORS

Contract drafting, review, and negotiation. Copyright registrations and trademark applications. Licensing of illustration rights.

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS

Negotiating, drafting, and reviewing production and distribution contracts. Copyrights. Music licenses.

DESIGN STUDIOS

Intellectual property protection. Business organization or formation. Employee and freelancer issues. Print and digital design contract drafting, review, and negotiation.

DANCE COMPANIES

Business formation. Intellectual property protection. Publicity rights. Labor and employment issues.

VIDEO-GAME DESIGNERS

Negotiation and review of independent contractor agreements. Copyright and trademarks.

VOICE-OVER ARTISTS

Contract review and negotiations. Licensing issues.

COMEDIANS

Copyright infringement. Defamation claims and defenses. Contract review, drafting, and negotiation. Management agreements.

STARTUPS

Business Formation. Owner’s agreements. Initial Financing. Intellectual property protection and licensing.

FREELANCERS

Work-for-hire and employment agreement drafting and review. Copyright and trademark protection and search for creative work.

CREATIVE BUSINESS OWNERS

Employee and independent contractor issues. Commercial leases. Contract drafting and review. Brand Managers-Trademark and trade dress protection and infringement.

WEB DEVELOPERS

Domain name and cybersquatting issues. Defamation and privacy concerns. Trademark, copyright, and trade dress infringement and protection.

ADVERTISING AGENCIES

Disclosures and disclaimers. Sweepstakes and contests. Intellectual property infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition.

SCREENWRITERS

Nondisclosure agreements and submission releases. Writer’s service agreements. Joint authorship collaboration agreements and assignments. Rights acquisition and purchase agreements.

AUTHORS

Copyright application and infringement. Negotiation of grants of rights, royalties, and other publishing contract provisions. Legal advice and counsel. Need help with your book proposal? Check out Propose My Book!

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Business formation. Permissions, model releases, contracts, and licensing agreements. Copyright registration and infringement.

VISUAL ARTISTS

Legal advice for sculptors, painters, and other artists. Copyright registration. Licensing for reproduction and other rights. Contract drafting, review, and negotiation for sales of art.

FASHION DESIGNERS

Legal advice. Protection for elements of apparel, accessories, and footwear, trademarks, and trade dress.

ACTORS

Contract drafting, review and negotiation.

MODELS

Intellectual property rights. Dissolution and formation of relationships between models, agencies, and clients. Privacy rights.

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Business formation. Employee and independent contractor/work-for-hire agreements. Copyright and trademark protection and licensing.

SMALL PRESS PUBLISHERS

Publishing contracts and reprinter agreements. Employer and employee issues.

PRODUCERS

Cast and crew hiring and employment contracts and legal issues. Film licensing and distribution rights acquisition agreements. Music licensing.

ILLUSTRATORS

Contract drafting, review, and negotiation. Copyright registrations and trademark applications. Licensing of illustration rights.

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS

Negotiating, drafting, and reviewing production and distribution contracts. Copyrights. Music licenses.

DESIGN STUDIOS

Intellectual property protection. Business organization or formation. Employee and freelancer issues. Print and digital design contract drafting, review, and negotiation.

DANCE COMPANIES

Business formation. Intellectual property protection. Publicity rights. Labor and employment issues.

VIDEO-GAME DESIGNERS

Negotiation and review of independent contractor agreements. Copyright and trademarks.

VOICE-OVER ARTISTS

Contract review and negotiations. Licensing issues.

COMEDIANS

Copyright infringement. Defamation claims and defenses. Contract review, drafting, and negotiation. Management agreements.

Get the legal and creative news straight to your inbox.

Music Law

Music law involves helping different groups in the music industry, including, but not limited to:

  Independent Record Labels:

Business formation. Negotiation and drafting of management and producer agreements, publishing agreements, and other music industry contracts.

  Musicians:

Drafting, review, and negotiation of recording, music production, management, publishing, band, live performance, merchandising, licensing, and other music-related contracts.

Find out about our music packages too! We offer different packages for musicians and independent record labels which meet all of your legal needs for a low monthly fee and a reduced hourly fee.

  Music Therapists:

employment contracts, business registration, licenses.

Need to meet Nicole in person? That’s fine.
Schedule a face-to-face consultation and get some free coffee.

60-minute call for Current Clients
30-minute call for Current Clients
20-minute call for Prospective Clients
20-minute call for Other Inquiries

Art Law

Art Law involves many different aspects of law, including intellectual property, contract law, constitutional law, tort law, tax law, commercial law, and international law. Art Law is focused solely on visual arts. Often Art Law may be as simple as representing an artist who is selling a painting to a gallery. As an Art lawyer, I advise artists on a variety of matters, including: First Amendment rights, copyright and trademark, moral rights, resale royalty rights, and statutory artist protections.

My clients include private collectors, private art foundations, artists, artist foundations, museums, galleries, and/or art dealers, who seek advice relating to the creation, destruction, purchase, sale, consignment, auction, movement, ownership, financing, loan, authentication, export/import, display, reproduction, insurance, taxation, storage, charitable gifting, and/or theft, restitution, , and recovery, of fine art.

  Visual Artists

Legal advice for sculptors, painters, and other artists. Copyright registration. Licensing for reproduction and other rights. Contract drafting, review, and negotiation for sales of art.

  Graphic Designers

Business formation. Employee and independent contractor/work-for-hire agreements. Copyright and trademark protection and licensing.

  Illustrators

Contract drafting, review, and negotiation. Copyright registrations and trademark applications. Licensing of illustration rights.

  Art Therapists

copyrights, employment contracts, business registration.

Own an art business or an artist? Crescendo Legal offers monthly subscriptions with reduced hourly rates for all legal work! Perfect if you want to retain an attorney for all of your legal needs. Contact me today to learn more!

Schedule a free consultation today.

SIGN UP

Startup Organization Packages

Limited Liability Company
Single Member LLC

Form your company with all necessary steps and documents

Initial Business Consultation

Register Business name with Secretary of State

Prepare and file Articles of Organization with Secretary of State

Prepare custom operating Agreement

Prepare and File Form SS-4

Register Business with applicable city/county

File renewals and update registration for first business year.

Sign up for $550
Sign up for $550

Limited Liability Company
Multi-member LLC

Initial business consultation

Register business name with Secretary of State

Prepare and file Articles of Organization

Prepare custom operation agreement.

Prepare membership interest transfer ledger

Prepare intellectual property assignment or licensing agreements.

Prepare and file form SS-4.

Register business with applicable city and county

File renewals and update registration for first business year.

Sign up for $750
Sign up for $750

Corporation
Oregon

Organize startup with multiple founders seeking venture funding.

Initial business consultation.

Register business name with Secretary of State

Prepare and file Articles of Organization.

Prepare Corporate Bylaws

Prepare and file form 2553

Prepare and file form SS-4

Order corporate set

Prepare intellectual property licenses or assignments.

File renewals and update registration for first business year.

Sign up for $950
Sign up for $950

Schedule a free consultation today.

SIGN UP

Business Subscription

New Business

Perfect for creative businesses in their first years of growth.

Initial legal review and recommendations

Two hours of telephone advice

Unlimited email communication

15% hourly fee discount on all legal services

Sign up for $100/month
Sign up for $100/month

Growing Business

Designed for growing creative businesses or those seeking an offering or an exit.

Initial legal review and recommendations.

Four hours of telephone advice or in-person meetings.

Unlimited email communication

$20 hourly fee discount on all legal services

Quarterly legal status report to management.

Sign up for $300/month
Sign up for $300/month

Established Business

Designed for established creative businesses without in-house counsel.

Initial legal review and recommendations.

Eight hours of telephone advice or in-person meetings.

Unlimited email communication

25% hourly fee discount on all legal services.

Monthly legal status report to management.

Annual monitoring and preparation of required legal filings.

Sign up for $500/month
Sign up for $500/month

Schedule a free consultation today.

SIGN UP

Trademark Services

Trademarks are very important for protecting your name, your brand, your logo, and your business. After all, you’ve worked hard on your business. Trademarks allow you to keep your business name safe and protect you against infringement.

Here at Crescendo Legal, trademarks are done at a flat fee in two different stages.

This way, you can choose to complete one step and then complete the other when it makes sense for you.

It’s that easy! Get a trademark today.

Stage One

To get started, there is:

Search report/analysis ($150)

Review and draft an opinion letter ($500)

Sign up for $650
Sign up for $650

Stage Two

Once we clear the mark for application, there is:

Drafting and preparation ($500)

Government filing fee ($275)

Sign up for $775
Sign up for $775

Schedule a free consultation today.

SIGN UP

About Nicole

Nicole Schaefer

I’m an Attorney in Portland, Oregon. I started doing creative business law after attending an aptitude training in which I learned my strongest aptitude was in music and creative areas. I then decided to practice Estate Planning when I realized that there were not enough lawyers in this area working with single individuals or individuals without children and creative business owners.

About three years ago, my cousin Christopher died unexpectedly. My entire family was devastated. Christopher was funny, smart, kind, and awesome. Plus, my family is very close knit. What made his death even more devastating was what happened afterwards. You see, Christopher was not only single, he also owned several businesses in creative areas- yoga, juggling, a coffee shop, etc. The hardest part of Christopher’s death was what his family had to sort through afterwards. Christopher DID NOT have any estate plan in place whatsoever. This meant that his brother had to work with attorneys while Christopher’s assets went through probate. Not only was this process expensive, it was also time-consuming and scary! It was scary because if there is no plan in place, someone’s assets can go to someone they would have never wanted them going to in the first place. In addition, Christopher literally had assets all over the place and no instructions for how they were to be handled. Not fun.

This whole situation taught me a very important lesson: Even if you think you don’t need a plan in place or that you don’t have an “estate”- you need something. Even if it’s just a will (although that won’t necessarily save you from probate). Seriously though, anything is better than a “do nothing” plan like Christopher’s. Nobody’s family should have to go through more hassle and spend so much time and money on settling an estate after that person dies simply because they never did anything.

That’s why I started my firm. Creative business owners and single people need someone on their side, to guide them through what may seem like an overwhelming process. That’s my purpose.

If you’re interested in my credentials, here they are:

Northwestern School of Law, J.D., 2014.

Scripps College, B.A. Psychology, 2008.

Oregon Bar Member (2015)

Member of: Oregon Women Lawyers, Oregon State Bar Estate Planning Section,
E-women’s Network, ABA.

There’s plenty of great information on my blog.

READ IT HERE
Creatives' Legal Program

The Creatives’ Legal Program is an innovative legal subscription service (the first of its’ kind in Oregon!) that helps creative businesses address and understand their legal needs proactively. Upon joining this Program, creatives can schedule a phone call anytime or send in documents for review at any time. In addition, all members get 15% off legal services not covered by their plan (and these benefits grow with time!).

Learn more
Learn more
Creatives' Legal Program