Alexander Jolles
Partner, Schellenberg Wittmer
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Alexander is an attorney, mediator and arbitrator focused on art law, copyright, entertainment and commercial law. He advises a broad range of clients from auction houses, galleries and dealers to museums, private collectors, artists and artist estates. He regularly advises on matters ranging from the sale and purchase of fine art; to title disputes; looted, stolen, forged and damaged art; shipping, import and export of art; structuring and managing of collections, foundations, loans, bequests and donations; attribution and authentication of art; art insurance; art as collateral; art funds; and copyrights.
Alexander’s law practice has included arbitration since 1990. He has served as Arbitrator in a wide range of art law and commercial disputes at both the domestic and international level. From 1999-2001 he served as Secretary General of the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland. He is on the panel of Arbitrators of the ICC National Committee for Switzerland and of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). For many years, he was a lecturer on international arbitration at the University of Zurich's LL.M. program in international business law and at the Swiss Arbitration Academy. He is currently a guest lecturer on art law at the advanced study program in applied art science organized by the Swiss Institute on Art Research in cooperation with the Zurich University of the Arts. He was appointed to the Arbitration and Mediation pools of CAfA in January 2020.
Alexander is a frequent speaker and has published extensively on issues related to art law and business, including on "Art Basel's Art Market Principles and Best Practices"; "Finding, Freezing and Attaching Assets"; "Swiss Rules of International Arbitration"; "Flight Art and Looted Art"; "The Swiss Cultural Property Act"; "Deaccessioning of Art Works by Museums"; "Art Expert Agreements"; "Art and Taxes"; etc.
He serves on the board of the Swiss Association of Art Collectors and of various art foundations, such as the Alberto Giacometti Foundation, Emil Bührle Collection, Werner Coninx Foundation, Foundation Kamm Collection and the Hulda and Gustav Zumsteg Foundation.
Alexander’s educational background includes: University of Bern, Switzerland (lic.iur. 1985); Bar Admission Switzerland (1988); foreign associate with two US law firms (1989-91).
Jurisdiction: Switzerland