Art and Law Workshop: Fiduciary Duties | Artist Dealer Relationships

Join the Center for Art Law for a workshop on fiduciary duties with artist-dealer relationships. This workshop will explore the fiduciary duties of gallerists toward their clients and will clarify the distinctions between contract-based relationships and the broader fiduciary obligations gallerists owe, including transparency, prudence, and the prohibition of undisclosed profits. It will also examine common conflicts of interest in the art world and how these fiduciary duties come into play.

About the Speaker:

Aaron Haines | Associate Attorney |Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP

Aaron Haines’ practice focuses on providing legal services for clients in the art world, including museums, galleries, artists’ estates, collectors, and foundations. He advises on a range of legal matters such as art transactions, tax issues, estate administration, endangered species regulations, and copyright and intellectual property issues. His litigation experience for art clients includes cases involving fraud, title disputes, authenticity, and copyright.

Before joining Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP, Aaron practiced at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he handled complex domestic and international disputes and advised on commercial and nonprofit transactions, including matters involving artists’ rights. He has also worked with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit and held legal internships at Christie’s, Herrick Feinstein LLP, and the U.S. State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center.

Aaron clerked for Judge Thomas L. Ludington in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he was a staff editor of the Cardozo Law Review and president of the Art Law Society. He also holds a postgraduate certificate from the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art in Italy and a B.A. in Art History from Brigham Young University.

Aaron is admitted to practice in New York and serves on the New York City Bar Association’s Art Law Committee. He has published on topics including art and cultural property law, artificial intelligence and copyright, and international repatriation of antiquities. He is proficient in Italian.