Meet Dayja Tillman, an attorney and VLPA volunteer helping Nashville artists understand their contracts, protect their work, and navigate legal questions with greater confidence.
As part of our 20th anniversary Volunteer Spotlight series, we’re celebrating the people who share their time and expertise to support Nashville’s creative community through the Arts + Business Council.
Our volunteers help artists navigate challenges, build their businesses, and move their creative work forward. Through Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA), Periscope: Artist Entrepreneur Training, and other opportunities, professionals from a range of backgrounds bring valuable guidance and perspective to creative careers.
This month, we’re proud to spotlight Dayja Tillman, Associate Attorney at Goodman Hurwitz & James, P.C., who began volunteering with the Arts + Business Council in 2026.
Dayja S. Tillman is an associate attorney at Goodman Hurwitz & James, P.C., where she practices civil rights and complex civil litigation. Her interests extend beyond litigation to the intersection of law, technology, intellectual property, and creative work, particularly how the law can help people protect, use, and build upon what they create. A creative and technologist at heart, Dayja found VLPA to be a natural way to bring those interests together while using her legal experience to support Nashville’s creative community.
We asked Dayja a few questions about her experience volunteering with the Arts + Business Council:
What inspired you to volunteer with ABC?
I’ve always been interested in creative work, and I’ve increasingly found myself drawn to the legal questions that surround what people create, from contracts and ownership to ways to protect original work. VLPA felt like the right place to connect those interests with my experience as an attorney while helping Nashville artists navigate issues that can have a real impact on their work and careers.
What has been your favorite “volunteer moment”?
One of my favorite moments was hearing from a client recently after I helped her with a few contract matters that, beyond finding my help valuable, she felt like she had genuinely learned about the nature of the types of contracts she brought because of the way I broke them down. That really stuck with me because I want people to leave a conversation with me not just with an answer to the issue in front of them, but feeling more informed and equipped to navigate similar issues going forward.
Any advice for new volunteers?
Don’t let the fact that arts and entertainment may not be your everyday practice or profession keep you from volunteering. You already know how to listen, spot issues, ask the right questions, and break complicated things down. You’ll probably be surprised by how much you can help while learning something new yourself.
Thank you, Dayja!
We’re grateful to Dayja for sharing her time, legal expertise, and thoughtful approach with Nashville’s artists, helping them better understand their contracts and feel more equipped to navigate future decisions. Interested in joining Dayja by contributing your skills or experience to support the creative community? We invite you to explore volunteer opportunities with the Arts + Business Council.
