Art Law Conference 2023: An Entrance to Paradise

Art Law Conference 2023 aimed to bring together students, attorneys, artists, arts, and legal professionals to discuss contemporary and relevant topics at the intersection of art and law. The conference promoted discourse on artists’ rights, intellectual property, copyright, art contracts, negotiation, and business tips, as well as anti-money laundering and art fraud.

Speakers included attorneys and legal professionals from leading law firms in the United States and internationally; artists from diverse backgrounds in modern, contemporary, and digital art; and arts professionals including appraisers. Each panel included an attorney and an artist to dissect the varied subject matter at the intersection of art and law from different perspectives to elucidate artists’ rights, interests, and protection. The panels included a presentation and discussion from the speakers and concluded with a question and answer session with the audience to ensure interactive engagement.

Materials for the conference include speaker slides and handouts with additional reading materials and resources. The subject matter is directed at a general audience of students, arts professionals, and legal professionals. No experience or prior knowledge is necessary for the conference.

This conference was organized by the Center for Art Law in partnership with the Artist Representation Society (ARS), a student group at Fordham Law School that is dedicated to empowering the artistic community by providing access to legal education and resources at the intersection of law and the cultural sphere. We explored cutting-edge topics in the field, including:

• Keynote Address: Art Lawyer’s Due Diligence Obligations
• Panel 1: Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Issues in Art
• Panel 2: Artist Contracts and Commission Agreements with Contemporary Art Institutions
• Panel 3: Anti-Money Laundering & the Art Market

View the details of the conference and speaker list HERE.

Past Program Schedule: 

12:00 PM – Conference Check-in opens

12:45 PM – Welcome Remarks

1:00 PM – Keynote Address: “Art Lawyer’s Due Diligence Obligations” by Sandrine Giroud, Partner, Lalive

1:30 PM – Panel 1: Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Issues in Art- 1.0 professional practice CLE credits

Moderator: Ron Lazebnik, Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Intellectual Property & Information Law Clinic, Fordham University School of Law

Speakers: Amelia Brankovart law and copyright attorney at Brankov PLLC; Kelly McKernan, artist and representative in class action lawsuit against Midjourney/Stable Diffusion; Scott J.
Sholder, partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, LLP; Nancy Wolff, partner at Cowan,
DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, LLP.

2:30 PM – Break

2:45 PM – Panel 2: Artist Contracts and Commission Agreements with Contemporary Art Institutions- 1.0 professional practice CLE credits

Moderator: Carol Steinberg, attorney, and Professor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA)

Speakers:Jill Magid, American performance-based artist in New York; Christopher Robinson, art law and intellectual property attorney at Rottenberg Lipman Rich; Amy Lamberti, Associate General Counsel at Metropolitan Museum of Art.

3:45 PM– Break

4:00 PM – Panel 3: Anti-Money Laundering & the Art Market- 1.0 professional practice CLE credits

Moderator: Philippa Loengard, Executive Director, Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia Law School

Speakers: Sophie Balaÿ, Certified Financial Crime Specialist and Senior Director at VIDOCQ; David Stier, Partner, DLA Piper LLC, Hartley Waltman, General Counsel, Americas at Phillips.

5:00 PM – Closing Remarks: Katie Wilson-Milne, Partner, Schindler Cohen & Hochman LLP

5:15 PM – 7:00 PM – Reception and Networking