Pryor Cashman LLP

Art Group

Partner

William Charron co-chairs Pryor Cashman’s Art Law Group, and is a member of the firm’s Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Media + Entertainment Groups.

The Preeminent Litigator for Authenticity, Title + Stolen Art Disputes

Bill represents institutional and individual clients in a wide range of art authenticity, title, copyright, contract, and other disputes. His clients include collectors, museums, auction houses, artists, artist foundations, and art advisors from around the world. Clients and peers say that Bill is “outstanding,” “has the ability to break a matter down and can really make sense of it,” “is exceptional in all his work and is a fantastic litigator,” and that “his knowledge and experience is second to none. He is always on top of developments, he is very detailed and a very practical and solution-driven lawyer” who is “extremely knowledgeable, very thorough, articulate – just terrific.”

Bill is regularly sought to handle the most high-profile and high-stakes art litigations in New York.

Bill frequently lectures and writes on issues impacting the art world, including World War II restitution cases, art authenticity, and procedural law issues. Bill has won a prestigious Burton Award for Legal Writing for a law review article he wrote concerning the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act. Bill has also been an adjunct professor of Art Law at the University of Virginia School of Law since 2019.

Bill is ranked as a “Band One” attorney in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide for Art and Cultural Property Law, with one source saying Bill "is tough yet calm, strategic yet nuanced in his thinking. For any issue that comes up, he articulates and strategises exceptionally well.” He has also been named a New York Law Journal “Trailblazer” for his work in the field of art law.

Intellectual Property + Commercial Litigation

Bill is also commercial litigator who has successfully handled numerous complex cases involving the Copyright and Lanham Acts, the civil RICO Act, trade secret, unfair competition, antitrust, securities fraud, shareholder and LLC membership, and contract and real estate disputes. Bill is repeatedly recognized by Super Lawyers New York for his intellectual property litigation work.

Court of Arbitration for Art, Board Member AiA: Authentication in Art, Advisory Board Member PAIAM: Professional Advisors to the International Art Market, New York Chapter, Executive Board Member New York City Bar Association, Art Law Committee (2015-18); Professional Ethics Committee (2012-15) New York State Bar Association American Bar Association

University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1998) Colby College (B.A., magna cum laude, 1993) Phi Beta Kappa