The art market is exciting, dynamic and lucrative, but it can also be difficult to navigate. That is why the advice of a leading art lawyer is essential for any high-net-worth individual hoping to expand their collection or dip their toe into the alluring art world.
Buying and selling art, something which can be difficult to value, authenticate and obtain, comes with a number of legal requirements and obligations, from the initial deal to the transportation.
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An art lawyer can help to ensure that a client’s art-related matters remain compliant across multiple jurisdictions and take into account individual nuances. They will also be abreast of changes in international law that might affect the status of a collection or sale, highlighting potential pitfalls and areas of caution before they become reality.
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Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
Best art lawyers: some names to know
Adrian Parkhouse
- Focus: Claims arising from art transactions
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Farrer & Co
Adrian Parkhouse has been at Farrer & Co for over 35 years, with more than 25 of these as a partner.
As head of the firm’s commercial litigation team and the contentious arm of its art and cultural property practice, he advises established art owners and national institutions (as well as new HNW collectors) on buying and selling; tax, import and export; and philanthropy.
Read Adrian Parkhouse’s full profile on Spears500.com
Gregor Kleinknecht
- Focus: Dispute resolution
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: MEUM Group
Gregor Kleinknecht of MEUM advises on both the transactional and contentious aspects of commissioning, buying or selling art, whether through commissioning agreements with artists, agency or gallery agreements, private treaty sales or consignment by auction, including advice on pre-acquisition, due diligence and provenance.
He has consulted on matters such as the loan of artworks for exhibition, the use of artworks as collateral for financial transactions, the restoration and insurance of artworks and the restitution of works stolen by the Nazi regime.
Read Gregor Kleinknecht’s full profile on Spears500.com
Till Vere-Hodge
- Focus: Restitution claims and looted artwork
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Payne Hicks Beach
Till Vere-Hodge heads up the art and cultural property law team at Payne Hicks Beach, acting for and advising a vast pool of clients who include art collectors, dealers and investors, heirs to precious artworks, auction houses, galleries and museums.
With a long track record and over a decade of experience in the space, Vere-Hodge is particularly well regarded for his work related to restitution claims and looted artwork and antiquities.
Read Till Vere-Hodge’s full profile on Spears500.com
Karen Sanig
- Focus: High-profile art collectors
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Mischon de Reya
Head of Mishcon de Reya’s art law department, which she created in 1995, Karen Sanig is one of the ‘originators’ of the sector, she tells Spear’s.
Sanig acts for clients including world-renowned artists and collectors, art foundations, charities, dealers, auction houses, galleries, museums and governments. She advises on a wide range of matters, such as art sales and purchases, artists’ rights, the creation and management of artists’ estates, and disputes over attribution.
Read Karen Sanig’s full profile on Spears500.com
Best art lawyers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles on spears500.com. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
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