The Legal Basics of Starting A Company

The Legal Basics of Starting A Company

Join us in FAI's Community Room for an informative session on the essential legal basics of starting a company. This workshop provides a basic overview of legal concerns that creatives might consider when starting a company. Such legal concerns include: Entity Formation and Equity; Intellectual Property; Employees and Advisors; Contracts; and Financing/Fundraising. Organized by Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, this workshop will be led by Sekou Campbell (Pierson, Ferdinand, LLP), and Sharon M. Erwin (Law offices of Sharon M. Erwin, LLC). Creatives will leave the workshop better equipped to start companies after learning how to consider relevant legal concerns.

Sekou Campbell
Sekou Campbell practices in the fields of intellectual property, technology, and corporate law. Prior to practicing law, Sekou was an actor and educator. He works in four main industries: (1) film/tv; (2) publishing; (3) arts-related technology; and (4) advertising. Sekou has advised a range of clients from award-winning individual artists to independent publishers and production companies as well as companies from start-ups and small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations.

Sekou has been recognized by Best Lawyers® for the last three years (2024, 2025, 2026) in the areas of Entertainment Law Motion Pictures and Television; Entertainment Law: Music & Media Law. He is a graduate of Cardozo Law School (JD, Intellectual Property and Constitutional Law concentrations, Arts and Entertainment Law Journal, Public Interest Scholar), Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA, Theatre, Faculty Senate Emeritus), and Vanderbilt University (BS, Dean’s Scholar).

Sekou lives in South Philadelphia.

Sharon M. Erwin
Sharon began her legal career as an associate at Dechert LLP before becoming a partner in a litigation boutique firm and then continuing to date as the founder and principal of her own firm. Sharon delivers a variety of legal services, including general counsel services, commercial contract drafting and negotiation, and copyright, IT and licensing assistance, often for museums, public arts organizations and cultural institutions. She also provides litigation consulting on arts-related issues. Sharon teaches Legal and Ethical Issues in Arts and Culture for Drexel University’s Arts Administration and Museum Leadership graduate program, and serves as a member and officer of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. She also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Manship Artists Residence and Studios, Inc. in Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Sharon has an AV Martindale Hubbell Peer Review rating and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Sharon received her J.D. cum laude from Temple University School of Law, where she served on the Editorial Board of the Law Review.

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