Art Law Conference 2022
“Say Art Law!”
by Sofia Tomilenko/Софія Томіленко.
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LOCATION:
New York Law School (NYLS) NYC and Online
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DATE:
Thursday, July 28, 2022 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
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RECEPTION:
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Center for Art Law was pleased to host its 2022 Art Law Conference in New York City!
Reception for networking and reunion followed the substantive portion of the day from 6 PM – 8 PM. Our conference celebrated exciting and contemporary topics on all things art and law, including:
- Immigration Law and Asylum for Artists;
- Thinking Creatively about Estate and Legacy Planning for Artists; and
- Artist-Dealer Relationships in 21st Century.
- The conference will feature a keynote presentation on KleptoCapture task force and Anti-Money Laundering efforts concerning the art market.
The themes explored in Art Law Conference 2022 were based on the Center for Art Law’s Legal Clinics. The evening included an art tour highlighting the collection of artwork at New York Law School, including works from artists such as Emilio Sanchez and Keith Haring, among several others (including New York Law School alumni and professors)!
Program
The themes explored in Art Law Conference 2022 are based on the Center for Art Law’s Legal Clinics. In addition, a reception will be held following the final panel in honor of Judith Bresler, a recognized leader in the field and a co-author of the seminal Art Law treatise, after whom the Center launched the Judith Bresler Fellowship in 2021. The evening will conclude with an art tour highlighting the collection of artwork at New York Law School, including works from artists such as Emilio Sanchez and Keith Haring, among several others (including New York Law School alumni and professors!)
Reception for networking and reunion will follow the substantive portion of the day.
Schedule
1:00PM – Conference Check in opens & Special Tours of the NYLS Art Collection Featuring Emilio Sanchez Paintings
1:45 PM – Welcome Remarks
2:00PM – Keynote Address: Andrew Adams, Director, Task Force “KleptoCapture”
2:30PM – Panel 1: Immigrants, Political Refugees, Artists: Legal lessons from Asylum Work and Afghan Artists
Moderator: Rakhel Milstein, founder and CEO, Milstein Law Group
Speakers:
- Sanjay Sethi, Co-Executive Director Artistic Freedom Initiative
- Lesley Rosenthal, Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary, The Juilliard School; author of Good Counsel: Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits (John Wiley & Sons 2012)
- Mohamed Khelif (Hammadi Khelifi), writer from Tunisia; attorney, Refugee Translation Project
3:30PM – Coffee Break
3:45PM – Panel 2: Sunrise/Sunset: Alternative Strategies for Estate and Legacy Planning for Artists
Moderator: Hanoch Sheps, CfAL Advisor; Associate, Mazzola Lindstrom LLP
Speakers:
- Ann Koll, artist and artist estate legacy advisor; Former Executive Director and Curator of the Emilio Sanchez Foundation
- Erik J. Stapper, Trustee, Emilio Sanchez Foundation; Senior Counsel, Davidson, Dawson & Clark LLP
- Ellen J. Epstein, Appraiser AARC Group
4:45PM – Panel 3: Artist – Dealer Relationships in the 21st Century
Moderator: Olivia Taylor (UCLA, Class 2022); CfAL Advisor; incoming Associate, Withers LLP
Speakers:
- Elena Zavelev, Co-Founder and CEO, CADAF
- Sasha Stiles, Poet, Artist, AI Researcher
- Yaél M. Weitz, Counsel, Kaye Spiegler PLLC
5:45PM – Closing Remarks: L. Eden BURGESS, Of Counsel, Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP
6:00PM – 8:00PM – Art Tours and Reception
Our Speakers
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Sanjay Sethi
Co-Executive Director, Artistic Freedom Initiative
Sanjay SethiCo-Executive Director, Artistic Freedom Initiative
Sanjay Sethi serves as AFI’s Co-Executive Director, overseeing coordination of its advocacy programs and legal services. For the last 15 years, Mr. Sethi has dedicated his career to public service and international human rights. Mr. Sethi has an extensive background in non-profit management, earning a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Mr. Sethi is the co-founder of Sethi & Mazaheri, LLC, a law firm dedicated to immigration and asylum law. He is also a former prosecutor and served as a law clerk in criminal court for the Superior Court of New Jersey.
Mr. Sethi’s commitment to human rights is rooted in his experience at the United Nations Children’s Fund in Moscow, Russia, and at the Columbia University Public Interest Law Initiative in Budapest, Hungary. He received his BA in economics from Northwestern University, his MA in International Affairs from Columbia University and his JD from University of Miami School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Washington DC.
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Mohamed Khelifi (Hammadi Khlifi)
Mohamed Khelifi, (Hammadi Khlifi) is a law graduate and writer from Tunisia. He holds a degree from Penn State University and Carthage University. He worked in several human rights organizations in Tunisia and New York such as the World Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy, the World Organization Against Torture and I Watch Organization/Transparency International. Mohamed has published two novels: Escape in 2016 that was awarded the Rambourg Foundation Award for Art and Culture, Dhawat National Students Bureau Award, and Prose Not For Publication in 2019. Mohamed’s work has also appeared in several journals around the world, including DAWN in D.C, Ultra Sawt in Doha, and Akhbaroukom in Beirut. Mohamed also participated in several social movements against corruption and impunity in the Tunisian government such as “I Will Not Forgive” and “Free Writers.”
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Lesley Rosenthal
Lesley Rosenthal is Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary of The Juilliard School and author of Good Counsel: Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits (John Wiley & Sons 2012). Previously she served as EVP, General Counsel & Secretary of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. Rosenthal graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She was later elected by alumni worldwide to a six-year term on the Harvard University Board of Overseers, ultimately serving as Vice Chair of the board and chairing its Arts & Humanities committee. She is the author of the bestselling book, Good Counsel: Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits (John Wiley & Sons 2012) and co-librettist of the jazz opera, Dear Erich. As immediate past President of the NY Bar Foundation, she led the organization through a 3-year strategic plan period with the Rule of Law as its central theme. In 2018 she originated a seminar at Harvard Law School entitled, “Advocating for the Rule of Law: A Practical Approach.” Together with the Nigerian actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, she co-presented a panel on arts and the rule of law at the 2017 World Justice Forum. Rosenthal is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the founding board chair of Friends of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, which in 2021 galvanized international support for the rescue of all 273 members of the Afghan music school from peril at the hands of the Taliban.
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Ann Koll
Ann Koll, artist and artist estate legacy advisor; Former Executive Director and Curator of the Emilio Sanchez Foundation
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Erik J. Stapper
Erik J. Stapper, Trustee, Emilio Sanchez Foundation; Senior Counsel, Davidson, Dawson & Clark LLP
Conference Sponsors
Center for Art Law would like to extend a heartfelt
thanks to our sponsors:










Art Law Conference 2022 Sponsors
Financial Sponsors





Media Sponsors and Promotional Partners



Policies
We are committed to the safety and well-being of all our in-person 2022 art law conference registrants.
Set out here are other in-person Meeting policies, including our cancellation, refund, and substitution policies.
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Fees and Registration Requirements:
All attendees for the in-person Center for Art Law Art Law Conference 2022 must be registered. Your registration entitles you to participate in either the in-person Meeting or the online Meeting portal.
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Cancellations, Refunds and Substitutions
In the instance that Center for Art Law needs to cancel the conference event for any reason, registration fees will be refunded, minus any Eventbrite fees or additional donations made to the Center by registrants.
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Participation Requirements
Art Law Conference Content
You acknowledge and agree that Center for Art Law, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to change aspects of the Art Law Conference, including but not limited to the Art Law Conference name, themes, content, program, speakers, hosts, moderators, venue, and time. -
Privacy Policies and Notices
Your privacy is important to the Center for Art Law. Please review Center for Art Law’s privacy policy.
Privacy Notice to Registrants on Personal Information Collected by Center
for Art Law in conjunction with the Art Law ConferenceCenter for Art Law collects personal information to enable your Art Law Conference registration, including Preferred Name / First Name, Last Name, Registrant Email, Job Titles, Organization Name, and other contact details. This information may be shared with select third parties that perform services for Center for Art Law and New York Law School in connection with the Art Law Conference, including database management services, sponsors, and networking tools, when applicable.
Health and Safety
Center for Art Law cares about the health and safety of its Art Law Conference registrants and participants.
The Center is partnering with New York Law School in New York, NY, USA to host the Art Law Conference 2022. New York Law School has implemented a variety of protocols and practices in response to the pandemic. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the NYLS website regularly.
Set out below are some of the health and safety precautions that will be in place during Art Law Conference 2022. As the health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19 (and its variants) are continually developing globally, our health and safety precautions are subject to change, and we reserve the right to do so.
We will inform registrants of our health and safety precautions changes.
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See All Health Policies & Waivers
In the instance that Center for Art Law needs to cancel the conference event for any reason, registration fees will be refunded, minus any Eventbrite fees or additional donations made to the Center by registrants.