Museum law covers various legal aspects of museum operations, including contracts, real estate, labor, tax, and fraud. Larger companies are often hired to represent museums, with lawyers specializing in specific areas. Tax lawyers are essential due to the non-profit status of many museums. Legal teams can become large during museum construction or expansion, with specialists in insurance and employment law also being necessary.
Museum law focuses on the unique interaction of a variety of laws that govern the functioning of museums. For museums, contracts for the sale or purchase of exhibits are common, as are contracts for the insurance of such exhibits. Extensions and renovations are covered by real estate law and workers are governed by labor laws. Since many museums are non-profit, most of these issues are further complicated by tax regulations. Fraud and attempted fraud are always a danger, so lawyers practicing museum law often also need some level of criminal law training.
The field of application of museum law is obviously very broad. Therefore, lone lawyers specializing in the field are rare. More often than not, larger companies are called upon to represent the museums. Within these firms, one or more lawyers are in charge of focusing on a specific aspect of museum operations. When a complication arises that encompasses more than one area of the law, these attorneys come together to work as a team.
A tax lawyer is essential in any practice specializing in museum law. Museums often rely heavily on their non-profit status for grants, government funding, and tax exemptions. Additionally, the statues are very strict in their definition of a non-profit. A sudden spike in revenue, such as a large donation or the sale of a work of art, could jeopardize a museum’s nonprofit status if not managed properly.
When dealing with the sale or acquisition of an exposure, it is not unusual to have a tax attorney paired with a contract attorney. In these cases, the tax attorney will deal with the financial implications of the sale while the contract attorney will handle the specific terms of the agreement to ensure legality. In cases where the authenticity of a work is in doubt, a fraud specialist may also be asked to join the team.
When a new museum is built or an existing museum is expanded, museum legal teams can become almost comically large. Again, the tax attorney is often called upon to monitor finances. The contract specialist observes the negotiations for land, materials and workers or women. A real estate attorney is usually needed to ensure that all permits are in order and that the land itself is free of liens.
In addition to the already large team, an insurance attorney may be needed to protect the museum from financial loss during storage or moving exhibits. Finally, new additions often require new employees. The museum’s hiring of any additional workers, especially those working temporarily or in newly created positions, may also require input from an employment law specialist.
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