Team

Pierre is the Partner in charge of Constantine Cannon’s Art & Cultural Property Law Group practice. Pierre has spent the last 25 years advising art collectors and art businesses on the law, first as in-house counsel to Sotheby’s and more recently as a partner of Withers LLP. Pierre’s clients include art collectors, art galleries, art dealers, auction houses, artists, museums, private banks, family offices, insurance companies and art investment funds. About half of his clients are based in the UK and the rest of Europe, a quarter in the USA and the rest in the Middle East and Asia. “Pierre lives and breathes art law. He is very well respected and is known by clients and other professionals in the art market as the go-to lawyer, particularly where there is a contentious angle” Chambers and Partners UK: Solicitors, A Client’s Guide, 2017 edition.

Azmina Jasani is a Partner in the Art & Cultural Property Law Group and a leading art law and luxury assets specialist.  She is valued by her clients for her “effective”, “diligent” and “straightforward” style and for her dual qualifications and experience in New York and London, which they deem “a real asset”.  Chambers & Partners 2019-20 & 2020-21.

Azmina is sought-after by the full spectrum of industry stakeholders, including artists, museums, collectors, sovereigns, galleries, dealers, auction houses and financial institutions on contentious and non-contentious matters around the globe.

She represents clients on a variety of matters, including disputes involving issues of authenticity, provenance, title and copyright as well as disputes relating to artist-gallery relations and looted or illegally exported cultural property.

Azmina routinely negotiates the sale and purchase of important artworks bought and sold privately or at auction, high-value consignment agreements, auction guarantee agreements, art finance agreements and art loan agreements for special exhibitions held at museums and galleries.

She is also often instructed by art and luxury businesses to help them comply with regulations pertaining to anti-money laundering, consumer protection, import and export, data protection, bribery and introductory commissions.

As a dual qualified lawyer with over a decade’s experience, Azmina is well-placed to provide a single source of advice for clients who require assistance in more than one jurisdiction.

Azmina’s clients describe her as “a powerhouse”, “fantastic to work with” and someone who is “precise, clear-thinking and has a sharp mind”.  Competitors describe Azmina as “a formidable counsellor, a zealous advocate for her client, and a pleasure to work with from the perspective of opposing counsel, which is a rare combination.”  Chambers & Partners 2019-20 & 2020-21.

Azmina lectures at the Institute of Art & Law, Queen Mary School of Law, Sotheby’s Institute of Art and the Courtauld Institute of Art.

She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and her B.A., summa cum laude, from Queens College, City University of New York.

 

Simon Yeung is Of Counsel in the Firm’s Commercial Litigation and Antitrust Litigation groups and is involved in the Firm’s Art Law practice.

Simon’s practice focuses on commercial disputes, including competition damages claims and art-related claims. He acts for clients in proceedings before the English courts, and in arbitration proceedings. He has previously acted for clients in proceedings in offshore jurisdictions, and in relation to a number of multi-jurisdictional investigations.

Simon has acted for a wide range of corporate clients, including a number of leading retailers in a competition damages claim, an insurance broker over a team move, and an investment fund, among others. Simon also acts on behalf of galleries and dealers, as well as private clients in relation to their art collections. His experience includes payment and financial services, as well as construction, among others.

Simon read General Engineering (with Civil Engineering) at Durham University before completing the GDL and LPC at the College of Law in York.