Shauna Curphey - Writing

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From Puns to Pundit

Washington Law & Politics, August 1, 2001

By Shauna Curphey

If you want to survive as an artist, forget meeting the devil at the crossroads to sell your soul. Try meeting with Bob Cumbow instead. As a volunteer attorney for Washington Lawyers for the Arts (WLA), he advises artists on how to protect their rights to their work (and their peace of mind). When artists get burned by a customer or need to negotiate a lease, they turn to attorneys like Cumbow, who volunteer their time at the WLA legal clinic.

“It’s not true that artists can’t afford a lawyer,” says Cumbow, “…but they don’t know where to find a lawyer who understands the world and work of artists.”

Bob’s been there: He’s an author of several books about movies. In his pre-lawyer days, he landed a publishing contract for his collection of puns. Fresh from a WLA-sponsored copyright workshop, he realized he should visit the legal clinic before signing. The WLA came through: The clinic attorney negotiated a better deal.

When Cumbow became a lawyer years later, he decided to share the love. Now, when he’s not writing about spaghetti westerns, you might find him at one of the monthly WLA-sponsored lectures, or counseling harassed or wary artists at the legal clinic. Ask him about the liner notes for the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey -- he wrote them and he’ll tell you they’re his best work.