Verified answer

I don't know anything about that particular agency but if they are in Beverly Hills (or anywhere else in California), it's very easy to check if they are a legitimate agency or not. By law, all model and talent agencies in the State of California are required to hold a valid license issued by the Department of Labor Relations (DLR)

http://www.dir.ca.gov/databases/dlselr/talag.html

When researching agencies, enter any agency name in the Name box then click Search and it will show if they are licensed or not. If they are not licensed, then they are actually breaking the law by operating as an agency without a license and need to be reported by clicking the Contact Us tab at the bottom of the page.

Model agencies are considered talent agencies under the law - the same rules apply whether an agency represents models or actors

In California agents are prohibited by law from charging upfront fees. Here is a copy of the actual law, but pay attention to these points in particular as they are the most commonly abused

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_13...

"1703.4. (a) A talent service, its owners, directors, officers,

agents, and employees shall not do any of the following:

(1) Make or cause to be made any advertisement or representation expressly or impliedly offering the opportunity for an artist to meet with or audition before any producer, director, casting director, or any associate thereof, or any other person who makes, or is represented to make, decisions for the process of hiring artists for employment as an artist, or any talent agent or talent manager, or any associate,representative, or designee thereof, unless the talent service maintains for inspection and copying written evidence of the supporting facts, including the name, business address, and job title

of all persons conducting the meeting or audition, and the title of the production and the name of the production company.

(2) Make or cause to be made any advertisement or representationthat any artist, whether identified or not, has obtained an audition, employment opportunity, or employment as an artist in whole or in

part by use of the talent service unless the talent service maintains for inspection written evidence of the supporting facts upon which the claim is based, including the name of the artist and the

approximate dates the talent service was used by the artist.

(3) Charge or attempt to charge an artist for an audition or employment opportunity.

(4) Require an artist, as a condition for using the talent service or for obtaining an additional benefit or preferential treatment from the talent service, to pay a fee for creating or providing

photographs, filmstrips, videotapes, audition tapes, demonstration reels, or other reproductions of the artist, Internet Web sites, casting or talent brochures, or other promotional materials for the artist.

(5) Charge or attempt to charge an artist any fee not disclosed pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 1703.

(6) Refer an artist to a person who charges the artist a fee for any service or any product in which the talent service, its owners, directors, officers, agents, or employees have a direct or indirect

financial interest, unless the fee and the financial interest are conspicuously disclosed in a separate writing provided to the artist to keep prior to his or her execution of the contract with the talent

service."

In simple terms what this means is that they can't promise you work with a certain company without actual proof, they can't claim they got a certain person work without written proof, they cannot charge you for photography, websites, brochures, promotional materials, or any other fees, and they can't refer you to a company in which they have a financial interest -- such as a school they invest in

The amateur wording on the website automatically raises suspicion. A professional site would not give long lists of clients or be so wordy about how great they are. More importantly (and obvious) there are no Terms & Conditions. Further, although it is feasible for any business to re-build a website, one of the common ruses is to infer the agency is well-established. There is no public access to the model portfolios indicating that possibly there aren`t actually any models on the books. It`s the equivalent of 'site under construction' often used by bogus agents.

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