Gillian

We first worked with Gillian when she was a high school student applying to college. She eventually attended Colby, a liberal arts college, to study both art and sociology. She contacted us again after graduating Colby for help planning her future.

Gillian shared how her interests in the sociological applications of art led her to intern at the Art Institute of Chicago prior to senior year. She worked closely with the photo editor in clearing reproduction rights for images and other copyrighted material.  She gained some understanding of the rules by which artistic knowledge was circulated and replicated, discovering in intellectual property (IP) laws a key aspect of the relationship between art  and society.  

During her senior year, Gillian met the Associate Director for Conservation at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The director showed her how new technologies and digitization were changing the understanding of how art should be conserved and replicated at an unprecedented rate.  The museum’s Rights and Reproduction Department faced complicated issues when it came to securing artists’ copyright protection given the new forms by which art was being produced and the proliferation of unmonitored online exchange.

Gillian came away from the discussion believing she was intersecting with a crucial moment in the history of art and law. She applied for an internship at a top law firm with a renowned IP practice. She read through case files and discovered IP law offered her the chance to grapple with the questions raised during her visit to the Whitney. After giving a presentation on artificial intelligence’s influence on redefining traditional practices of copyright authorship, Gillian knew she wanted to become an IP lawyer.

Gillian’s time at Colby made her aware an education in law would not be enough, so she applied for post graduate studies in sociology of media and culture at Cambridge University in England.  She believed the master’s program would provide her with theoretical and analytical skills to understand the impact of technology on both art and IP law.

We also worked with Gillian to identify the best law schools for her future practice area. She decided to apply Early Decision to Columbia because of its Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts. The Short List helped her craft her resume and work through her essays to highlight how Columbia would provide her a distinct opportunity to engage with issues of authorship, new forms of cultural production, and the dissemination of artistic knowledge. Gillian’s focus and commitment paid off when she received word just before the holidays she had been accepted and would soon be moving to New York City, one of the world’s artistic capitals.