Who we are

Are you obsessed with your business? We are too.

At the core of AMBART LAW is the belief that each of our clients, whether an emerging or established business, deserves our utmost attention, responsiveness, and care.

Our mission is to empower our clients to navigate complex legal landscapes and achieve their goals. We leverage our unique blend of litigation and transactional experience, entrepreneurial insight, and innovative thinking to deliver clear, actionable, and forward-thinking legal solutions for you and your enterprise.

Like other firms, we produce high quality work product. But what sets AMBART LAW apart is that we prioritize:

  • responsiveness

  • advice tailored to your business (that you can actually use)

  • fair and accurate billing

Get to know us better by meeting our team, below.

Meet the Team

Yelena ambartsumian
Founder

maria cannon
ASSOCIATE

YELENA AMBARTSUMIAN

I am the founder of AMBART LAW. I counsel business owners and tech startups in emerging areas of law, including AI governance and data privacy. My goal is to help you unlock your legal strategy, making it not only an enabler but a business advantage.

Prior to founding AMBART LAW, I founded the art-tech startup Origen, a collection management and analytics platform for emerging contemporary art. I also have worked as General Counsel at the engineering consulting firm ZUVIC, served as a Senior Associate at a premier global law firm handling complex commercial litigation and regulatory investigations, and was Of Counsel at an art and cultural heritage law boutique.

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.

In sum, my experiences enable me to see the many different sides of the picture, and to design risk mitigation balanced with implementation. I speak lawyer (sometimes too well), I speak founder, and I speak startup. Let’s connect. My DMs are open on LinkedIn or you can request a consultation here.

  • New York State

    Southern District of New York (SDNY)

    Eastern District of New York (EDNY)

    Connecticut Authorized House Counsel for ZUVIC Inc.

  • Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

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

    Certified AI Governance Professional (AIGP) by IAPP

    Chapter Co-Chair, IAPP KnowledgeNet, New York

    Charter Member & Global Leadership, Women in AI Governance (WiAIGP)

    Chair, Fractional General Counsels in AI Governance, WiAIGP

    Member, New York City Bar Association

    Rising Star, New York Metro, Super Lawyers (2017, 2018, 2019), Litigation

    Advisory Council - Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University

  • MIT Professional Education, Applied Generative AI for Digital Transformation

    Milbank at Harvard, Modules I, II, and III

    Fordham Law School, Juris Doctor

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

  • “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)

    “European Parliament ‘Strongly Condemns’ Azerbaijan’s Destruction of Armenian Heritage,” HYPERALLERGIC (March 2022)

    “International Court of Justice Rules Azerbaijan Must Stop Destroying Armenian Cultural Heritage in Artsakh,” HYPERALLERGIC (December 2021)

    “Why Armenian Cultural Heritage Threatens Azerbaijan’s Claims to Nagorno-Karabakh,” HYPERALLERGIC (February 2021)

    “Courts Find ‘Your Art Dealer is Not Your Friend’: Due Diligence Requirements for Purchasers of Artwork,” New York State Bar Assoc., Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Journal (Summer 2015)

    “The Dispute Between the Armenian Church and the Getty Museum over the Lost Armenian Canon Tables,” American Bar Association, Art and Cultural Heritage Law Newsletter (Summer 2012)

    Research Assistant, Visual Arts and the Law: A Handbook for Professionals (focusing on research and drafting assistance for “Principles of Copyright” chapter discussing U.S. and U.K. copyright laws), Judith Prowda and Sotheby’s Institute of Art (Lund Humphries 2013)

  • Presenter, “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, Women in AI Governance (June 2025).

    Presenter, Hot Topics, Lawyers and Litigators in AI Governance, WiAIG (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).

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.

  • New York State

  • 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

  • UNC School of Law, Juris Doctor

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

  • “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)

Contact us

Interested in a consultation? Fill out some information. And, if you qualify, we will be in touch shortly to schedule.