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January 23, 2026
Sidley Represents Lawyers for the Creative Arts in Pro Bono Transaction

2 min
AI-made summary
- Sidley represented Lawyers for the Creative Arts (LCA), a Chicago-based non-profit, in negotiating an agreement with the Arts and Business Council of Chicago (A&BC)
- As part of the agreement, LCA acquired all programs and assets of A&BC, which is ceasing operations
- This transaction results in a significant realignment of arts service organizations in Chicago and expands LCA’s portfolio of capacity building services, clinics, and workshops
- The Sidley team was led by Alexis Cooper, Lisa Holzman, and Michael Clark.
Sidley represented Lawyers for the Creative Arts (LCA), a 52 year-old non-profit organization providing free legal services and educational programs for the Chicago arts community.
LCA asked Sidley to negotiate an agreement between LCA and the Arts and Business Council of Chicago (A&BC), which sought to cease operations after transferring all its programs and other assets to another non-profit with a complementary mission. The negotiations culminated in a major realignment of Chicago-based arts service organizations. Under the agreement, LCA has acquired all the programs of A&BC, with their own decades long history of serving the arts community, thereby augmenting LCA’s own considerable portfolio of capacity building services, clinics, and workshops.
Sidley lawyers have been providing board leadership to LCA and pro bono representation of LCA clients for the entirety of the non-profit’s history, so this representation was a natural one for both Sidley and LCA, and one that built on Sidley’s institutional knowledge and experience with the non-profit arts community. The transaction will enable LCA to make a significant expansion in its ability to bring the resources of Chicago’s legal community in the service of our state’s arts and culture environment.
The Sidley team was led by Alexis Cooper and Lisa Holzman (M&A and Private Equity) and Michael Clark, a retired partner.~~Sidley represented Lawyers for the Creative Arts (LCA), a 52 year-old non-profit organization providing free legal services and educational programs for the Chicago arts community.
LCA asked Sidley to negotiate an agreement between LCA and the Arts and Business Council of Chicago (A&BC), which sought to cease operations after transferring all its programs and other assets to another non-profit with a complementary mission. The negotiations culminated in a major realignment of Chicago-based arts service organizations. Under the agreement, LCA has acquired all the programs of A&BC, with their own decades long history of serving the arts community, thereby augmenting LCA’s own considerable portfolio of capacity building services, clinics, and workshops.
Sidley lawyers have been providing board leadership to LCA and pro bono representation of LCA clients for the entirety of the non-profit’s history, so this representation was a natural one for both Sidley and LCA, and one that built on Sidley’s institutional knowledge and experience with the non-profit arts community. The transaction will enable LCA to make a significant expansion in its ability to bring the resources of Chicago’s legal community in the service of our state’s arts and culture environment.
The Sidley team was led by Alexis Cooper and Lisa Holzman (M&A and Private Equity) and Michael Clark, a retired partner.
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