Professional background
My clients are leading art collectors, family offices, artists and their estates, art galleries, dealers and advisors, auction houses, museums and foreign governments looking to repatriate cultural property or developing large cultural projects. I handle disputes and international transactions, and I advise on a broad range of topics including export and import controls, intellectual property, anti-money laundering compliance and other semi-regulatory matters. My clients are worldwide.
Authored pieces
Art
Insight
Hidden in transit: the uneasy relationship between freeports and the darker side of the trade in cultural property
12.12.2025
The heist of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911 was so audacious that it inspired the theory of Picasso as a suspect. A century later, art thefts still dominate headlines and dinner party conversations. From smashed display cases in Dresden to vanishing crown jewels in Paris, recent heists have reignited global fascination with the black market for cultural treasures. But while the cinematic smash-and-grab gets all the attention, the biggest trove of looted art may be hiding in plain sight.
Art
Insight
From Red Tape to Renaissance: Italy reduces the rate of VAT on art to 5%
15.07.2025
Back in 2022, Council Directive (EU) 2022/542 introduced sweeping reforms to VAT taxation across the European Union. Among its most consequential provisions for the art world was the significant curtailment (some might say near-eradication) of the “margin scheme”, a mechanism previously relied upon by many in the secondary art market (we have unpacked the implications of that shift here).
Lawyers I've worked with
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Helen Mulcahy Partner, Dispute ResolutionArt lawBanking LitigationCommercial FraudDispute Resolution
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Richard Pike PartnerLondon, England Email RichardCompetition, Regulation and Distribution LawDispute ResolutionPublic and RegulatoryTechnology
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