On November 4, the Art Law Section hosted an Art Law Walk at the Transbay Terminal Approximately 20 people attended an outdoor discussion about legal issues related to works of outdoor public art (e.g., moral rights and the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), copyright, tort, insurance issues). During the discussion, the Section’s Executive Committee members posed law-school-esque hypotheticals to the crowd that were inspired by three works of public art in San Francisco’s Transbay Terminal. After the discussion, the group walked to see each of the three large-scale, permanent public pieces in person: White Light by Jenny Holzer, Bus Jet Fountain by Ned Kahn and Terrazzo Floor by Julie Chang. Incredibly, two of the lawyers who negotiated the contracts between the City of San Francisco and the artists for the commissions of the pieces were in attendance. Afterwards, the group had complimentary drinks at nearby Town Hall restaurant, sponsored by the law firm Withers Worldwide.

The CLE participants remarked about the refreshing nature of communicating with other practitioners in person. Many in attendance agreed that reconnecting with colleagues in person allows us all to build stronger and more meaningful business relationships, cementing existing and new social bonds. Safely and thoughtfully hosting in-person events is possible and the benefits to us all are enormous. We hope 2022 brings more of these face-to-face meetings for us all.