Going Global: A Case Study of Lincoln Center’s Legal Department

Michelle Millard, Legal Fellow, Lincoln Center For The Performing Arts, Inc., USA

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (“LCPA”), located in New York City, is the world’s largest and most comprehensive performing arts center. For over half a century, Lincoln Center has presented audiences at the 16-acre complex on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with world-class artistic and educational programs. The Center is home to eleven independent artistic and educational institutions, each top in its field, including the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the Juilliard School, the New York City Ballet, Jazz at Lincoln Center and more.

Lesley Rosenthal is Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of LCPA and the author of the bestselling book, Good Counsel: Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits (John Wiley & Sons 2012). She chairs Charity Corps: Lawyers Helping Nonprofits, a joint initiative of the New York State Bar Association and the New York State Attorney General's Office. She graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and she practiced at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison in New York City before joining Lincoln Center in 2005. Michelle Millard is a 2012 graduate of Columbia Law School. She served as Legal Fellow at Lincoln Center in 2012-13.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 series, festivals, and programs including Avery Fisher Artist Program, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Books, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Martin E. Segal Awards, Meet the Artist, Mostly Mozart Festival, Target Free Thursdays, White Light Festival, and the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations.