Dr. Jennifer Morris leads our Art and Museum Law practice. She is an art historian and lawyer whose practice focuses on art, museum, and cultural heritage matters. In addition to advising clients on provenance, title, and ownership disputes, Jennifer assists collectors, museums, and other nonprofit organizations with due diligence, governance issues, and international trade controls. Jennifer also works with indigenous peoples to protect their cultural heritage. 

Art, Antiquities, and Rare Collectibles

Jennifer has helped clients handle the acquisition, sale, and donation of a wide variety of collectible items, including Old Master paintings, rare antiquities, dinosaur skeletons, and moon dust from the Apollo 11 mission. She counsels museums, auction houses, and private individuals on collections management, best practices, and ownership issues. She has litigation and alternative dispute resolution experience in matters concerning looted antiquities, forced sales, and recovery of stolen cultural property. Jennifer also advises clients on thefts from museums and archaeological sites and import/export issues affecting cultural artifacts. 

Museums & Cultural Nonprofits 

Jennifer works with museums and other cultural nonprofit organizations in a variety of capacities, including museum policymaking, collections management, board and governance issues, and compliance with state and federal filing requirements. She advises nonprofit clients on international heritage preservation and restoration projects in war zones.

Indigenous Heritage

Jennifer works with American Indian tribes and other stakeholders to protect indigenous heritage sites and cultural objects. She advises tribes, museums, and collectors on cultural property repatriation and restitution, including Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) compliance.

About Jennifer

Jennifer graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art, Art History, & Visual Studies from Duke University. She received the Nancy Kaneb Art History Award and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Jennifer earned a PhD in Art & Archaeology at Princeton University. Her doctoral research focused on early modern German art.  

Jennifer spent two years as the Samuel H. Kress Institutional Fellow at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (Central Institute for Art History) in Munich. She maintains active connections to German museums and research centers. As a horse enthusiast, she also follows German equestrian sports.

Jennifer completed her Juris Doctor degree at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary while working as a research fellow at the Muscarelle Museum of Art. She has served as an adjunct professor of Art & Cultural Heritage Law at William & Mary and frequently speaks to law students and undergraduates about careers in the cultural heritage sector.

In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys riding and spending time with her horses at her home farm. She shows competitively on the hunter/jumper circuit and has won national championships in the amateur owner hunter division.