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Mona Yapova

Mona Yapova

Associate

Personal Profile

Mona is an Associate in Mishcon Private, specialising in Art Law and Luxury Assets. She advises artists and their estates, galleries, art foundations, collectors, luxury brands, auction houses, museums, government entities, and charities. Her practice combines advice on both contentious and non-contentious matters ranging from artist representation, the sale and purchase of art, loans, donations, and art commissions, to authenticity, attribution, and intellectual property disputes.

Mona's roots in the creative industries and her background in art history give her an informed ability to navigate the cultural and creative context of projects and disputes alongside clients. Before joining Mishcon de Reya, Mona worked for the art law teams of two American litigation boutiques. She acquired further art world experience at the Guggenheim Museum in Venice, the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, and while teaching fine art during summer schools and an artist residency.

Mona has a dual background in English and French law and speaks fluent French. She is a guest lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art, a member of the committee of the Art Lawyers Association, and a member of PAIAM.

Key Experience

  • Drafting representation agreements for emerging and high-profile artists
  • Advising both galleries and artists on intellectual property disputes, including in relation to appropriation art
  • Structuring a donation of several hundred works by a collector to leading museums in the UK, US, and Europe
  • Advising clients in authenticity disputes including both cases of fraudulent forgery and disavowal of work by artists
  • Structuring commission agreements for complex works including large scale site-specific works, installations, and conceptual works
  • Advising artists, galleries, and auction houses in contractual disputes, including disputes relating to contractual resale restrictions
  • Advising a fine jewellery brand in an intellectual property dispute 
  • Structuring both primary and secondary market sales of art
  • Advising an artist's estate on the unauthorised posthumous production and sale of editions of the artist's work
  • Advising clients on title disputes including both cases of theft and misappropriation

Career History

Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Associate, Constantine Cannon LLP
Courtauld Institute of Art, Postgraduate Diploma in Art History, focus: 15th Century Persian Arts and Cold War Art History
King’s College London, Dual qualifying law degree in English Law and French Law (LLB)
Sorbonne University, Licence en Droit (French LLB equivalent) & Master I in English Law and French Law

Articles and Publications

  • Co-Editor in Chief, Getting the Deal Through - Art Law in the United Kingdom - England & Wales (Lexology, 2021, 2022, 2023 editions)
  • Contributing author, The Art Law Review – Recent Developments in the Art Market (The Law Reviews, 2021, 2022, 2023 editions)
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