Chambers High Net Worth 2022 logoNick’s practice focuses primarily on complex civil litigation, for which he has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States. He represents corporations, employers, individuals, investment advisers, banks, and others around the world in contract, employment, securities, consumer protection, tort and domestic relations cases, with particular experience in the German-speaking world. He is also the editor of the Art Law Report, a blog that provides timely updates and commentary on legal issues in the museum and visual arts communities, one of his areas of expertise. Nick is one of the leading practitioners in the United States in matters concerning claims to allegedly Nazi-looted works of art.

Nick is the Co-Chair of the Art, Cultural Property and Heritage Law Committee of the International Bar Association and co-chair of the New York chapter of the Responsible Art Market Initiative, as well as a member of the Art Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association.

Additionally, Nick has authored and contributed to several books on art law:

  • Country chapter author (United States): Museums and the Holocaust (Second Edition, Institute of Art and Law, 2021)
  • A Tragic Fate—Law and Ethics in the Battle Over Nazi-Looted Art, (Ankerwyke/ABA Publishing, 2017)
  • “Public Trust or Private Business? Deaccessioning Law and Ethics in the United States,” in Éthique et Patrimoine Culturel - Regard Croisés, G. Goffaux, ed., (L’Harmattan, 2016)
  • “Vergangenheit als Zukunft?  Restitutionsstreitigkeiten in den Vereinigten Staaen,” in Ersessene Kunst—Der Fall Gurlitt, J. Heil and A. Weber, eds., (Metropol, 2015)
  • “Nazi-Looted Art—Risks and Best Practices for Museums,” in The Legal Guide for Museum Professionals, Julia Courtney, ed., (2015, Rowman & Littlefield)

Representative Client Work

  • Represents, pro bono, multiple children attending statewide virtual public school in action against Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association challenging arbitrary rule that prevents such children from participating in interscholastic athletics programs
  • Argued in the Supreme Court of the United States as lead counsel to plaintiffs seeking restitution of the Guelph Treasure, sold under duress by Jewish art dealers in 1935 to the Prussian government. F.R.G. v. Philipp, 141 S. Ct. 703 (2021). The case concerns the first case in which a U.S. court has found jurisdiction over a German state museum for claims to allegedly Nazi-looted art, Philipp v. F.R.G., 894 F.3d 406 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
  • Counsel of record for Mark Feldman, former U.S. Department of State Acting Legal Adviser in case concerning Nazi-forced sale of a painting by Camille Pissarro. Argued for the reversal of the ruling of the Ninth Circuit that federal common law supplied the choice of law rule in a case brought under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(3). The Supreme Court ruled for the petitioners consistent with the brief’s argument that 28 U.S.C. § 1606 compels that subsequent to finding jurisdiction, foreign sovereign defendants must stand in the same footing as any private litigant, including the choice of law. See Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, No. 20-1566, 2022 U.S. LEXIS 2097, __ S.Ct. _ (Apr. 21, 2022).
  • Second chair at trial win for Akamai Technologies, Inc. in significant Massachusetts tax litigation involving the treatment of the cloud computing industry, affirming Akamai’s eligibility for status as a manufacturer
  • Represent art dealer in civil action against Poland concerning extradition attempts brought in retaliation for client's claims to recover property lost during the Holocaust. Khochinsky v. Republic of Poland, 1 F.4th 1 (D.C. Cir. 2021).
  • Counsel for heirs of renowned Berlin art dealer Alfred Flechtheim in investigation and recovery of art looted by the Nazis from the Galerie Flechtheim
  • Represent members of the Berkshire Museum in litigation concerning proposed sale of 40 works of art to fund museum operations
  • As lead counsel to Artmentum GmbH in widely publicized $204 million lawsuit over sale of a fine art collection, won motion to dismiss all claims in Art Assure Ltd., LLC v. Artmentum GmbH et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-03757 (LGS) (S.D.N.Y.)
  • Represented a New York art dealer in litigation involving claims for restitution of artworks alleged to have been stolen during the Nazi occupation of France. Obtained complete dismissal of all claims against client. Meyer v. University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-3128 (CM)
  • Served as first chair in federal court trial and settlements concerning private flight services
  • Argued before the Supreme Court of New Hampshire in case of first impression concerning the applicability of the Restatement (Third) of Property. Stowell v. Andrews, et al., 171 N.H. 289 (2018).
  • Obtain dismissal of challenge seeking zoning enforcement from abutter based on allegations that clients’ house violates the town of Falmouth's (town) height and story zoning limitations, affirmed on appeal. Allison v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Falmouth, et al., 90 Mass. App. Ct. 1110 (2016)
  • Successfully represented a home furnishings manufacturer in a jury trial in which a former employee was claiming equity in the company and deferred compensation
  • Achieved the complete dismissal of lawsuit attempting to pierce the corporate veil of a health care provider trying to hold liable two investment adviser defendants alleged by plaintiffs to be shareholders
  • Defending a foreign financial services company in litigation concerning third party fraud, including an internal investigation in Europe overseeing the preservation, collection and analysis of data spanning nearly 20 years
  • Represented a Dutch manufacturing company in resolving an international dispute with a Japanese automotive supplier concerning their worldwide supply chain and allegedly defective components. Responsible for managing the worldwide investigation into the substance of the claim and the legal review and risk assessment, as well as directing the negotiations in the Netherlands, France, and the United States
  • Obtained a dismissal on First Amendment grounds of lawsuit challenging the governance of a religious school in Brookline, Massachusetts. The case was as upheld on appeal. Oster v. New England Hebrew Academy, 63 Mass. App. Ct. 1115, 827 N.E. 2d 258 (2005)
  • Won summary judgment for landowners in Massachusetts state court in a case concerning the scope of subdivision and land use rights
  • Advises museums, dealers, auction houses and collectors worldwide about restitution, copyright and de-accessioning issues
  • On a pro bono basis, obtain restraining and privacy orders for victims of domestic violence and assert immigration rights of crime victims
  • Served as first chair in child abduction and Hague Convention cases

Bar & Court Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • New York
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • Supreme Court of the United States

Education

  • J.D., Boston College Law School
  • B.A., magna cum laude, Williams College

Community Engagement

  • Member, Art Law Committee, New York City Bar Association
  • Co-Chair, International Bar Association's Art, Cultural Institutions and Heritage Law Committee
  • Past Vice President, Danforth Museum of Art Board of Trustees
  • Boston Bar Association
  • Boston Bar Association, Public Interest Leadership Program

Languages

  • German
  • Spanish

Awards & Honors

  • Chambers USA High Net Worth, 2021-2022
  • The Legal 500 U.S., 2020-2022
  • "Up & Coming Lawyer," Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2008
  • "Rising Star," Massachusetts Super Lawyers, (2007, 2009, 2010-2012)

Seminars & Presentations

  • "Selling the Museum's Collection: Is Deaccessioning Ever Appropriate?" Columbia Law School (October 28, 2013)
  • "Holocaust Art Restitution Litigation in the United States," Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA), Chiostro Boccarini, Amelia, Italy (June 21-23, 2013)
  • "American Wartime Art Restitution in the 1990s and Beyond – Has it All Been Worth It?" Art and Heritage Disputes Conference at the University of Maastricht, Netherlands (March 24-25, 2013)
  • "Essentials for the New Collector," The Ellis Boston Antiques Show (October 21, 2011) 

Practices

Industries

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