Sarah Erickson André is a litigator who represents clients facing business disputes all over the world. Sarah focuses in representing clients in high-profile appeals, art restitution claims, and in prominent class action cases.
I focus my practice on three main areas:
I enjoy the challenge of creating a strategy for a case on appeal – this can be the difference between winning and losing for a client. I review trial court records and make assessments based on both current and emerging legal principles to craft arguments likely to be successful on appeal. I was recently involved in a precedent-setting win for a financial services client facing a putative student loan class action before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
My experience involves artworks and cultural property allegedly confiscated or lost during times of conflict. Several of the matters I have handled have shaped the state of the law today and helped define the parameters of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1602, et al. (“FSIA”). I am part of the team that won a decisive victory, as the district court recognized that Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation of Madrid, Spain, is the rightful owner of a masterpiece. I also represent the Republic of Hungary in a case of first impression in an action challenging Hungary’s possession of more than forty artworks.
I represent clients in complex commercial litigation matters in all industries. I have secured favorable results defending clients against a wide variety of claims, including: breach of contract, copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.
I have been closely monitoring the federal courts as they wrestle with the scope, parameters and application of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Some circuits have defined the Act’s scope broadly, while others are cautious in the face of conflicting principles of customary international law.
Law360 | September 06, 2018
This article mentions Complex Commercial Disputes partners Chris Mason, Sarah André, Dan Deane and Seth Horvath as counsel for The New York Bar Foundation and The New York State Bar Association in an amicus brief—filed with the United States Supreme Court—in support of the approval by a California District Court, and the Ninth Circuit, of Google’s settlement involving a “cy pres” remedy in a privacy-related case.
Reuters | September 21, 2017
Nixon Peabody’s Arts and Cultural Institutions team, led by Los Angeles partners Thaddeus Stauber and Sarah André secured a legal victory on behalf of The National Gallery in London in a lawsuit regarding the Gallery's Henri Matisse painting "Portrait of Greta Moll” (1908). Sarah is quoted in this article about the case.
ArtNews Net | December 06, 2016
The following articles highlight yesterday’s oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over the ownership of a Camille Pissarro painting. Los Angeles commercial litigation partner and head of the firm’s Art and Cultural Institutions team Thaddeus Stauber, commercial litigation partner Sarah André and associate Jessica Walker are counsel for The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation.
Law360 | December 06, 2016
The following articles highlight yesterday’s oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals over the ownership of a Camille Pissarro painting. Los Angeles commercial litigation partner and head of the firm’s Art and Cultural Institutions team Thaddeus Stauber, commercial litigation partner Sarah André and associate Jessica Walker are counsel for The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation.
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law - Managing Editor
North Park College, B.A., cum laude
California
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, Central District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
District of Columbia
U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Sarah was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2018 in the field of Art Law. Sarah has been listed in Best Lawyers since 2016.
Sarah has also been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for 2014 and 2015.
In December 2011, the judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit elected Sarah to serve a three-year term as an appellate lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
Member, Federal Bar Association
Member, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association