Artful Laws

By Gilien Silsby on December 8, 2009 11:09 AM

Leading attorneys specializing in art law recently told students how they broke into the industry and rose to represent some of the world’s most famous museums, artists and collectors.

Speaking at the lunchtime discussion sponsored by the Art Law Society were Maria Seferian, who worked on the Armand Hammer Museum restructuring; William Brutocao, who represents artists such as Kent Twitchell; and Robert Darwell, who worked on the Louis Vuitton collaboration with Murakami for the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

“When I started working, I wanted to be an entertainment lawyer and later go off and open an art gallery or do something else related to art or music,” said Seferian, who also worked with MOCA during its recent financial difficulties and is a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson. “But I find my job very rewarding. You have to do what you love to do, and I’m doing exactly what I want to do in a context I didn’t expect.”

For Brutocao, representing artists is not something he sought out. In 2006, he represented muralist Twitchell in a lawsuit against the U.S. government for painting over his 70-foot-tall landmark mural. The $1.1-million settlement is one of the largest under the Federal Visual Artists Rights Act and the California Art Preservation Act.

“The Twitchell case got me directly involved in litigation of artists’ rights,” said Brutocao, who heads the litigation department at Sheldon Mak Rose & Anderson. “It’s not something I planned.”

Brutocao quickly learned that working with artists requires an understanding of their work and mindset. “Artists are definitely different than the general population - artists don’t think like businessmen,” he said. “Kent Twitchell is probably the most famous living muralist in North America. He’s the quintessential starving artist. He doesn’t care about money, therefore you have to take responsibility to protect his financial interests.”

Darwell’s interest is in commercial art, fashion and advertising. Although he initially set out to be an entertainment lawyer, he quickly found that entertainment extends beyond Hollywood.

“My interest has always been the intersection between art and commerce and the commercialization of art,” said Darwell, founder of Sheppard Mullin’s fashion and apparel practice. “In law school, I took one copyright class and an entertainment law class, but knew I wanted to be an entertainment attorney. Once I started practicing, I quickly realized that sports, fashion, art and entertainment are very much related.”

Seferian said the learning curve can be high when representing artists and museums. “Representing museums is very different from representing other nonprofits,” she said. “Museums are rich and poor at the same time. They’re rich in their collections, but they are often living hand-to-mouth off relatively tiny endowments.”

Darwell advised students that if they’re truly passionate about art law, they should show it. “Volunteer for a museum, take an art history class or, best of all, do an externship with the California Lawyers for the Arts,” said Darwell, who established Sheppard Mullin’s art law practice and writes the firm’s art law blog at www.artlawgallery.com

“I would much rather hire someone who has shown this kind of interest and initiative who doesn’t have grades as high as the student who does, but gives no reason that he wants to pursue this side of law,” he said.

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