Black and white portrait of a woman with short, wavy hair, wearing a blazer and a light-colored top, smiling slightly.

who we are

AMBART LAW is a law firm built for AI‑enabled and SaaS companies — from the growth stage through their most complex legal challenges. We combine deep AI governance and privacy expertise with serious litigation credentials, serving as embedded fractional general counsel for scaling companies and as trusted advisors and litigators when the stakes are highest. Predictable flat rates for ongoing counsel. Senior judgment across the board.

HOW WE WORK

We work with AI-enabled and SaaS companies in three ways: (1) as embedded fractional general counsel for companies that need ongoing legal support without a full-time hire; (2) as advisors on high-stakes questions around AI governance, privacy, regulatory risk, and commercial strategy; and (3) as litigation counsel when disputes arise or regulatory matters demand serious advocacy. Depending on what you need, we can be your outside GC, your trusted advisor, or your courtroom team.

What sets us apart

We prioritize:

  • Predictable legal spend. We work on flat rates and monthly retainers, so there are no surprise bills, no hourly clock anxiety. You know what legal costs before the month starts. Firms that eliminate surprise bills through flat-fee arrangements have the single most tangible competitive advantage in the startup legal market. We built our practice around that.

  • Embedded, not episodic. Most outside counsel shows up when you call. We show up before you know you need to. As your fractional GC, we're in your Slack, in your product reviews, and in your vendor negotiations — so legal is proactive, not reactive.

  • We've built AI programs, not just advised on them. We have served as fractional GC to Series B and C AI and SaaS companies, building privacy programs from scratch, counseling on agentic AI products, drafting AI governance frameworks, and negotiating AI vendor agreements. We bring AIGP and NIST AI RMF certifications to every engagement — but more importantly, we've done the work.

  • BigLaw litigation rigor, applied to your business. Complex commercial litigation, bet-the-company disputes between collaborative companies turned competitors, SEC and state AG regulatory investigations, RICO and antitrust defense — that's the background we bring to your contracts, your governance frameworks, and your disputes. We've seen how things go wrong. We draft and advise with that in mind.

  • Responsiveness. You get clear answers on a realistic timeline — not radio silence while the clock runs.

How we can work together

We support AI‑enabled and SaaS companies in a few different ways, depending on your stage, risk profile, and how much legal work you actually need month to month.

Access GC

Subscription‑based, light‑touch general counsel support for seed and early‑stage founders who want real legal judgment on product, privacy, and commercial questions without swallowing their runway.

Learn more about Access GC

Product & Contracts Lite GC

Flat‑fee support for heavier commercial and product work: key customer and vendor contracts, go‑to‑market questions, and the privacy and AI issues that come with them.

Learn more about Lite GC

Fractional General Counsel

Deeper ongoing GC support for scaling AI and SaaS companies that need a trusted legal partner in the room for strategy, complex negotiations, and governance.

Learn more about fractional GC

Project‑based engagements

Targeted projects like AI governance frameworks, privacy reviews, or a critical commercial deal, when you need focused legal support without a long‑term commitment.

Talk about a project

Litigation and disputes

Strategic representation in commercial and technology‑related disputes, including breach of contract, IP infringement, and regulatory matters, with a focus on resolving problems in a way that protects your business and future deals.

Discuss a litigation matter

Meet the Team

Black and white portrait of a woman with short dark hair, wearing a black blazer and earrings, posing with arms crossed and smiling.

YELENA AMBARTSUMIAN

I am the founder of AMBART LAW. I counsel AI-enabled and SaaS companies on the legal questions that matter most at the growth stage: AI governance and product counseling, data privacy, commercial contracts, and, when things go wrong, disputes and regulatory matters. My goal is to help you make legal a business advantage — not a bottleneck.

Before founding AMBART LAW, I:

  • Spent three years in the Litigation & Arbitration group at Milbank LLP, where I worked on complex commercial and cross-border civil litigation, securities and commodities litigation, bankruptcy litigation, and regulatory and internal investigations — including SEC and state attorney general investigations — for enterprises, corporate boards, and special committees. I led and managed teams of 20–50 attorneys across multiple U.S. offices, handled all stages of fact and expert discovery including taking and defending depositions, and drafted high-stakes motions including Daubert and Rule 702 challenges to expert opinions and motions to dismiss RICO and antitrust claims. During this period I was recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in litigation (2017, 2018, 2019).

  • Served as General Counsel at ZUVIC, an engineering consulting firm, where I advised the company through bet-the-company proceedings arising from the COVID-19 pandemic — working directly with the executive team and outside counsel to formulate and execute a comprehensive litigation and business strategy.

  • Served as pro bono counsel to the Hon. Claire C. Cecchi, United States District Judge in the District of New Jersey, drafting summary judgment decisions and opinions on motions to dismiss in complex commercial and civil rights matters.

  • Founded Origen, an art-tech startup, and served as Of Counsel at an art and cultural heritage law boutique — experience that informs AMBART LAW's art and entertainment law practice.

I am a charter member of Women in AI Governance, where I lead the Fractional General Counsels in AI Governance chapter. I am also a co-chair of IAPP’s New York KnowledgeNet Chapter, from which I hold the CIPP/US and AIGP certifications.

I frequently write, comment in media, and lecture on copyright x AI, as well as privacy x AI. I also research and speak on Armenian cultural heritage issues, and, I am the founder of QAMI JAN, a lifestyle brand making waves in Contemporary Armenian Design.

I speak lawyer. I speak founder. And I speak AI — not just as a governance matter, but as a practitioner who uses it, advises on it, and helps clients figure out where it helps and where it creates risk they haven't seen yet. If you want to explore working together, you can connect with me on LinkedIn or request a consultation.

Admissions

  • New York State

  • Connecticut

  • Southern District of New York (SDNY)

  • Eastern District of New York (EDNY)

  • Connecticut Authorized House Counsel for ZUVIC Inc. (2020–2025)

Professional memberships & recognition

  • Member and Chapter Co‑Chair, IAPP KnowledgeNet New York

  • Certified Information Privacy Professional – United States (CIPP/US)

  • Certified AI Governance Professional (AIGP)

  • Rising Star, New York Metro, Super Lawyers (2017, 2018, 2019, 2026) - Business Law & Litigation

  • Charter Member and Global Chapter Leader, Women in AI Governance (WiAIG)

  • Chair, Fractional General Counsels in AI Governance, WiAIG

  • LexVid: Excellence in Legal Instruction Award for 2025

  • Advisory Council Member, Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University

  • Board of Trustees Member, Armenian Museum of America

  • President’s Club, Fordham University

Education

  • MIT Professional Education – Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformation

  • Milbank at Harvard, Modules I–III

  • Fordham Law School, Juris Doctor, cum laude

  • Fordham College at Lincoln Center, Honors Program – B.A. Political Science (Departmental Honors), B.A. Spanish Language and Literature (Departmental Honors), Minor in Theology

Selected publications

For a full list of publications and media, visit the Writing & Speaking page.

Selected speaking

  • Speaker, “AI Is Deciding Our Lives. Are Women Deciding AI?” FEMINNO Global, UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) (March 19, 2026).

  • Panelist, “Women Shaping the World,” AGBU New York Headquarters (March 10, 2026).

  • Moderator, “Health Data and AI: Leveraging and Mitigating the Risks of Chatbots and Patient-Facing Tools,” IAPP New York KnowledgeNet Chapter Meeting, Hosted and sponsored by Orrick (February 10, 2026).

  • Moderator, “Digital Governance: 2025 Year-In-Review,” IAPP New York KnowledgeNet Chapter Meeting, Hosted and sponsored by McDermott (December 10, 2025).

  • Moderator, “Agentic AI vs. AI Agents: Redrawing the Governance Map for Architecture, Autonomy & Legal Accountability in AI Systems,” Women in AI Governance, Fractional GCs in AI Governance Meeting (September 18, 2025).

  • Lecturer, Copyright and AI Series: Generative AI and Copyright Infringement, LexVid, Continuing Legal Education (2025).

  • Lecturer, Copyright and AI Series: Copyrightability of Outputs, LexVid, Continuing Legal Education (2025).

  • Lecturer, Evaluating AI Vendor Agreements, TRT CLE, Continuing Legal Education (2025).

  • Moderator, “How much can we know about AI safety without interpretability?”Fractional GCs in AI Governance Chapter Meeting, Women in AI Governance (July 2025).

  • Lecturer, “AI Regulation Across the Atlantic,” New York and Copenhagen IAPP Joint Chapter Meeting (June 2025).

  • Moderator, “Data Purpose Limitations and AI,” Fractional GCs in AI Governance Chapter Meeting, Women in AI Governance (June 2025).

  • Presenter, “Hot Topics,” Lawyers and Litigators in AI Governance Chapter Meeting, Women in AI Governance (April 2025).

  • Moderator, “How to Build a Lasting Art Collection,” Atamian Hovsepian (April 2024).

  • Panelist, “Pathways to Peace:  the Role of Diplomacy and Peacebuilding in Advancing Human Rights During Conflict,” Columbia Law School (March 2024).

  • Presenter, "Updates in Art Law," 15th Art Law Institute: New Insights in Art Law, New York County Lawyers Association (October 2023).

  • Panelist, “Erased: Protecting Cultural Heritage in Times of Armed Conflict,” 30th Annual Intellectual Property Law Journal Symposium, Fordham Law School (October 2022).

  • Panelist, “Cultural Heritage at Stake: How to Preserve, Mitigate Damage, and Punish Destruction,” American University of Armenia (Yerevan, Armenia), Center for Truth and Justice Inaugural International Conference (June 2022).

  • Panelist, “The Caucasian Albanian Palimpsest and Cultural Erasure in Nagorno Karabakh,” Zoravik (December 2021).

  • Panelist, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Art Collecting (But Were Too Afraid to Ask),” Whitney Museum of American Art (May 2019).

  • Panelist, “The Dispute Between the Armenian Church and the Getty Museum over the Lost Armenian Canon Tables,” New York City Bar Association, Armenian Bar Association Annual Meeting (May 2014).

anastasia vener

Admissions

  • New York State

  • New Jersey

  • Wisconsin

Professional memberships & recognition

  • Certified Information Privacy Professional – United States (CIPP/US)

  • Certified AI Governance Professional (AIGP)

  • Member, IAPP New York KnowledgeNet Chapter

  • Former Deputy, The L Suite (TechGC)

Education

  • University of Wisconsin Law School, Juris Doctor

  • University of Wisconsin - Madison - B.A. Legal Studies; B.A. Russian Language and Literature (Honors in the Major)

Selected publications & Speaking

Anastasia Vener is Senior Associate at AMBART LAW, where she focuses on privacy law, AI governance, and commercial litigation for AI-enabled and technology-driven companies. She brings something most privacy and AI governance attorneys don't: 16 years of building and running a legal function from the inside at a technology company, where she drafted enterprise AI use policy and spearheaded AI governance and literacy programs, gaining first hand understanding of both what it takes to build governance infrastructure and the organizational dynamics that determine whether it succeeds.

Before joining AMBART LAW, Anastasia served as Senior Litigation Counsel at MetTel, a managed telecommunications and technology services company, where she directed enterprise litigation strategy across commercial disputes, contract enforcement, and bankruptcy matters. She personally managed all phases from pleadings through discovery, depositions, motion practice, and trial, and first-chaired three bench trials securing favorable outcomes that directly informed enterprise contract and enforcement strategy. She also served as the company's subject matter expert on privacy law, data protection, and AI governance, advising leadership on U.S. and global regulatory developments and translating them into actionable, business-aligned policies.

What distinguishes Anastasia's practice is a practitioner's understanding of how AI governance challenges present inside real organizations. Having identified governance gaps firsthand in an enterprise environment, she knows what it takes to build frameworks that actually work operationally and to translate regulatory complexity into guidance businesses can act on before a compliance gap becomes a crisis.

Prior to joining AMBART LAW, Anastasia was a Deputy at The L Suite (TechGC), where she facilitated discussions on AI governance, privacy, and emerging technology regulation and led roundtables at the NYC Deputy Litigation Forum, Legal Velocity Summit, TechGC Privacy Forum, and the Crypto Virtual Forum.

maria T. cannon

Maria T. Cannon brings her artistic eye and solutions-based mindset to her legal work when counseling clients in intellectual property, privacy, and AI-related matters. Maria’s passion for languages and love of learning gives her an edge in approaching new technologies and their influence in unexpected sectors of modern life.

Prior to joining AMBART LAW PLLC, Maria worked at an art law boutique firm. As a law student at UNC School of Law, Maria worked in the Legislative Drafting Division of the North Carolina General Assembly. She is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where she majored in English Literature and taught Pure Barre classes.

Maria is a certified Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). In addition, she has earned several certificates for completing the National Institute of Security and Technology’s Risk Management Framework (RMF) Introductory Courses tailored to NIST's up-to-date Special Publications, including training with NIST SP 800-37, Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations (Version 2.0), and NIST SP 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations. Managing risk requires tailored, effective organization-wide risk management programs, and Maria is passionate about helping companies build and implement a comprehensive system of outcome-based risk management controls to meet their needs.

Admissions

  • New York State

Professional memberships & recognition

  • Certified Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP) by IAPP

  • Member, New York State Bar Association

  • Member, New York City Bar Association

  • Certificate of Completion, NIST SP 800-37, Risk Management Framework for Systems and Organizations, Introductory Course Version 2.0

  • Certificate of Completion, NIST SP 800-53 Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems Introductory Course

Education

  • UNC School of Law, Juris Doctor

  • Wake Forest University, Bachelor of Arts in English, Magna Cum Laude

Selected publications & SPEAKING

  • "AI Law Careers & Specializations," The Society for AI & Law, Wake Forest Law School (April 15, 2026).

  • “Even Exempt Organizations Need to Be Data Mapp: Here’s why,” IAPP (November 2025).

  • “Imagine if AI agents planned your next vacation,” IAPP (April 2025).

  • “Why the Obsession with Human Creativity? A Comparative Analysis on Copyright Registration of AI-Generated Works,” Harvard Art Law Organization x Harvard International Law Journal (February 2025).

  • “When Copyright Transforms the Right to Remember,” HYPERALLERGIC (November 2024).

  • New York State Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section Blog (frequent contributor).

  • American Bar Association Art & Cultural Heritage Newsletter "Saints Come Marching In? How Museums Ensure Their Relics Are In That Number" (2024).

  • American Bar Association Art & Cultural Heritage Newsletter "The Need for Speed: Why Recovery of Missing Art Needs an Upgrade" (2023).

  • American Bar Association Art & Cultural Heritage Newsletter "Preliminary Approaches to IP in the Metaverse" (2022).

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