New Barnes Foundation GC Has Longtime Ties to Art World
The Legal Intelligencer
By Gina Passarella
November 18, 2009
Less than a week after the Barnes Foundation broke ground for its new home in Philadelphia, it brings something else to the city - a new general counsel.
Brett I. Miller is leaving his position as a partner in Morgan Lewis & Bockius' Washington, D.C., office to serve as general counsel to the foundation. He is currently serving part-time and will assume the role on a full-time basis come January 2010.
Miller is replacing former Judge Phyllis W. Beck, who left the post in May shortly after the last of the Barnes Foundation's legal troubles over a move from Lower Merion Township, Pa., to Philadelphia seemed to be over.
Though he may be new to the Philadelphia region, Miller is no stranger to the art world. After receiving his law degree in 1995 from the University of Virginia, he served as a law clerk in the general counsel's office of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Prior to going to law school, Miller did graduate-level studies in art history at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts and at Columbia University. He also served as the associate curator of collections of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Miller's private law practice has focused on intellectual property and corporate transactional matters along with related litigation. He has represented a range of clients from Fortune 100 companies to a number of museums and other nonprofits. He is the co-author of a 1999 book titled "A Museum Guide to Copyright and Trademark" and serves on the board of directors of the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts.
Having been with a Philadelphia-based firm for 13 years, Miller said he is familiar with the landscape of the city. That is particularly true, he said, given his longstanding client relationships with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Franklin Institute.
Miller learned of the opening at the Barnes Foundation through his contacts in Philadelphia and said he thought it seemed like the "ideal combination" of his experience and skill set.
From the time he worked as a law clerk at MOMA, Miller said he had the expectation he would one day work in-house for a museum. After leaving MOMA, he served as an associate in the Washington office of Debevoise & Plimpton and then moved to Morgan Lewis.
Miller said the firm has been very supportive of him using part of his time over the next few months to work for the museum. He started part-time at the Barnes Foundation three weeks ago and will officially sever ties with Morgan Lewis at the end of December. He is relocating to Philadelphia for the position.
When Beck stepped down from her position as general counsel in May, she agreed to stay on as general counsel emeritas and has occasionally worked with the foundation since then.
"Now that all of the major legal issues that have plagued the Barnes Foundation for so long have been cleared, I intend to step down from my day-to-day function as general counsel," Beck said in a statement in May. "I believe more than ever that the best chance for the future of the Barnes lies in moving the art collection to the Parkway in Center City Philadelphia. I am proud to have been a part of the team that is making that move a reality and I will remain a strong and vocal supporter of the move as I continue on in my emeritas role."
The Barnes Foundation was involved in a protracted legal dispute over its intent to move from its longtime Montgomery County site to Philadelphia in order to facilitate expansion efforts.
Montgomery County and a group of art students, alumni and neighbors of the Barnes Foundation had pursued a long-shot effort to reopen a 2004 decision in the case allowing the Barnes Foundation to depart from Dr. Albert C. Barnes' charitable bequest requiring the Barnes Foundation to stay in Lower Merion Township for perpetuity. The trial judge ruled against them, and no more appeals were taken, effectively ending the dispute.
When asked what he would focus his efforts on now that the bulk of the litigation has concluded, Miller said the foundation will confront a "whole range of legal issues" as it "looks to expand the scope of its operations on the Parkway."
Miller makes up the whole of the Barnes Foundation's legal department. He said there are no immediate plans to expand it, but that will depend on the needs of the department going forward. In terms of outside counsel, Miller said that to the extent he is looking for outside lawyers, he will use the best lawyers for the job.
Find this Article at:
http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/index.jsp
|
300 North Latch's Lane
![](images/"shim.gif"){kind=spacer}
