FOUNDER

Yelena Ambartsumian combines her passion for contemporary art as a collector with her professional experience as an attorney handling high-stakes, cross-border litigation, and regulatory investigations. She enjoys counseling clients on intellectual property, privacy, litigation, and transactional matters. As an artist, Yelena appreciates analogue forms of creation and expression. But she is also passionate about understanding digital technologies and believes artificial intelligence will change our world.

Before founding AMBART, Yelena’s experience includes: working as Of Counsel at Amineddoleh & Associates, LLC, one of New York City’s most renowned art law and cultural heritage boutiques, as well as working as a Senior Associate in the Litigation group of Milbank, a premier global law firm handling high-profile investigations and complex commercial litigation, and as General Counsel at ZUVIC Inc., an engineering consulting firm based in Connecticut. Her experience as a litigator in high-profile business and bet-the-company disputes informs her approach to contract drafting and avoiding potential pitfalls from the outset.

In addition to her experience as an attorney, she also founded and ran a collection management and trading insights platform for emerging contemporary art (Origen) with over $6 million of inventory.

Yelena frequently researches, speaks, and writes on Armenian cultural heritage issues, and, is the founder of QAMI JAN, a lifestyle brand making waves in Contemporary Armenian Design.

Yelena is a certified Information Privacy Professional - U.S., and a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Admissions

New York State

Southern District of New York (SDNY)

Eastern District of New York (EDNY)

Connecticut Authorized House Counsel for ZUVIC Inc.

Recognition and Memberships

Certified Information Privacy Professional – United States (CIPP/US)

Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

Member, New York City Bar Association

Rising Star, New York Metro, Super Lawyers (2017, 2018, 2019), Litigation

Advisory Councill - Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University

Education

MIT Professional Education, Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformation

Milbank at Harvard, Modules I, II, and III

Fordham Law School, Juris Doctor

Fordham College at Lincoln Center, Honors Program, B.A. Political Science (Departmental Honors), B.A. Spanish Language and Literature (Departmental Honors) | Minor in Theology

Selected Speaking Engagements

Moderator, “How to Build a Lasting Art Collection,” Atamian Hovsepian (April 2024).

Panelist, “Pathways to Peace:  the Role of Diplomacy and Peacebuilding in Advancing Human Rights During Conflict,” Columbia Law School (March 2024).

Presenter, "Updates in Art Law," 15th Art Law Institute: New Insights in Art Law, New York County Lawyers Association (October 2023).

Panelist, “Erased: Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times of Armed Conflict,” 30th Annual Intellectual Property Law Journal Symposium, Fordham Law School (October 2022).

Panelist, “Cultural Heritage at Stake: How to Preserve, Mitigate Damage, and Punish Destruction,” American University of Armenia (Yerevan, Armenia), Center for Truth and Justice Inaugural International Conference (June 2022).

Panelist, “The Caucasian Albanian Palimpsest and Cultural Erasure in Nagorno Karabakh,” Zoravik (December 2021).

Panelist, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Art Collecting (But Were Too Afraid to Ask),” Whitney Museum of American Art (May 2019).

Panelist, “The Dispute Between the Armenian Church and the Getty Museum over the Lost Armenian Canon Tables,” New York City Bar Association, Armenian Bar Association Annual Meeting (May 2014).

Selected publications

“European Parliament ‘Strongly Condemns’ Azerbaijan’s Destruction of Armenian Heritage,” HYPERALLERGIC (March 2022)

“International Court of Justice Rules Azerbaijan Must Stop Destroying Armenian Cultural Heritage in Artsakh,” HYPERALLERGIC (December 2021)

“Why Armenian Cultural Heritage Threatens Azerbaijan’s Claims to Nagorno-Karabakh,” HYPERALLERGIC (February 2021)

“Courts Find ‘Your Art Dealer is Not Your Friend’: Due Diligence Requirements for Purchasers of Artwork,” New York State Bar Assoc., Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal (Summer 2015)

“The Dispute Between the Armenian Church and the Getty Museum over the Lost Armenian Canon Tables,” American Bar Association, Art and Cultural Heritage Law Newsletter (Summer 2012)

Research Assistant, Visual Arts and the Law: A Handbook for Professionals (focusing on research and drafting assistance for “Principles of Copyright” chapter discussing U.S. and U.K. copyright laws), Judith Prowda and Sotheby’s Institute of Art (Lund Humphries 2013)

ASSOCIATE

Maria T. Cannon brings her artistic eye and solutions-based mindset to her legal work when counseling clients in intellectual property, privacy, and AI-related matters. Maria’s passion for languages and love of learning gives her an edge in approaching new technologies and their influence in unexpected sectors of modern life.

Prior to joining AMBART, Maria worked at one of New York City’s most established and respected art and cultural heritage firms, Amineddoleh & Associates. As a law student at UNC School of Law, Maria worked in the Legislative Drafting Division of the North Carolina General Assembly. She is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where she majored in English Literature and taught Pure Barre classes.

Maria is a certified Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Admissions

New York State

Recognition and Members

Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP)

Member, New York State Bar Association

Member, New York City Bar Association

Education

UNC School of Law, Juris Doctor

Wake Forest University, Bachelor of Arts in English, Magna Cum Laude

Selected Speaking Engagements

Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community - "The Rise of Celebrity Art" (2023)

Cardinal Gibbons High School - "Nazi-Looted Art and Related Claims" (2023; 2024)

Selected Publications

New York State Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section Blog (frequent contributor)

American Bar Association Art & Cultural Heritage Newsletter "Saints Come Marching In? How Museums Ensure Their Relics Are In That Number" (2024)

American Bar Association Art & Cultural Heritage Newsletter "The Need for Speed: Why Recovery of Missing Art Needs an Upgrade" (2023)

American Bar Association Art & Cultural Heritage Newsletter "Preliminary Approaches to IP in the Metaverse" (2022)