By: Danny Jacobs

Maryland Lawyers for the Arts has undergone a makeover.

The biggest change means my first sentence is technically incorrect. The organization, which offers pro bono assistance and lawyer referral service to artists and arts groups, is now called Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (MdVLA).

“The change is meant to clarify the volunteer nature of the organization’s mission,” said Marcia Semmes, MdVLA’s executive director, in a statement. “Despite the fact that MdVLA has been helping Maryland artists since 1985, some people remained unclear about its purpose and questions like, ‘Is it a group of lawyers who like art?’ were common.”

The organization also has new logo, website and office space, the latter part of a community of nonprofits at Union Mill in Baltimore. And it still continues to publish its quarterly newsletter, “Arts Brief,” which has one of the best slogans around — “Left-Brain Support for Right-Brain People.”

(The photo, by the way, is of Laura Schandelmeier and Stephen Clapp, married professional dancers, at their Dancenow Productions studio in Mt. Rainier in 2008. I talked to Clapp for my story on MdVLA after the couple had been assigned an attorney through to help Dancenow become a nonprofit. The group is now known as Dance Box Theater.)