International law firm Withers has hired Georges Lederman, a white collar criminal defense attorney and civil litigator with a huge depth of experience in art law matters. Georges joins as Special Counsel in New York from the firm Pearlstein McCullough & Lederman.
Georges regularly represents art collectors, dealers, galleries and auction houses in cases before U.S. federal and state law enforcement agencies on matters involving the sale of fraudulent and looted works of art and antiquities, importation of ivory and international cultural heritage artefacts, sales tax evasion and money laundering. With a strong background in criminal and civil litigation, gained from 10 years working for the New York County District Attorney’s Office, amongst other roles, Georges brings a broad and balanced perspective to his cases.
Dean Nicyper, head of Withers' U.S. Dispute Resolution team, comments: "Georges has a first-rate reputation in the art world for his knowledge, judgement and litigation experience. Our art sector experience extends throughout each of our practice areas, from tax to employment law, arbitration to commercial contracts. Georges' expertise adds an important element to our U.S. art team, enabling us to guide our clients through allegations of criminal fraud, theft and other criminal matters. What's more, his highly sophisticated general commercial litigation skills will help to reinforce the strengths of our broader U.S. litigation practice."
Georges adds: "This move to Withers is a really exciting step forward for me. The firm offers an extended international platform on which to work with colleagues who have a wealth of knowledge of art industry practice and issues. I am certain that my clients will benefit from this wider range of services under one roof and that there will be great opportunities to build our art practice across the market."
Withers' art practice consists of highly experienced advisors based across the U.S., Europe and Asia, advising on buying and selling artworks, copyright issues, litigation, taxation, insurance and many more matters. The practice is recommended in Legal 500 and Chambers, which highlights its "ability to provide comprehensive cross-border advice on all art-related matters" and its "important presence among art intermediates."
About Withers
Withers is an international law firm dedicated to entrepreneurs, successful people and their businesses.
With over 160 partners and more than 450 other lawyers, we have unparalleled expertise in commercial, tax, trusts, estate planning, financial services, litigation and arbitration, real estate, charities, philanthropy, employment, family law and other legal issues facing individuals and their families. The firm has advised 63% of the top 100 UK Sunday Times Rich List, 25% of the Forbes 400 List, 35% of the Hong Kong Forbes Rich List, and 35% of Forbes Asia's Richest Families list.
Withers has 17 offices worldwide in London, New York, New Haven, Greenwich (Connecticut), San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Rancho Santa Fe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, the British Virgin Islands, Geneva, Milan, Padua and Cambridge.
For more, visit withersworldwide.com
