Barbara K Luse

Associate, New York

Barbara K Luse

Associate, New York

Barbara Luse focuses on white collar defense and regulatory enforcement with a particular focus on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), international money laundering and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations, and U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions. Barbara also focuses on regulatory enforcement and corporate transactions with a particular emphasis on cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance (DeFi), and blockchain technology. Barbara has extensive experience in art law related matters including fraud, stolen and illegally exported art and antiquities, and restitution. Prior to joining Cohen & Gresser, Barbara practiced with John Cahill at Cahill Partners LLP in New York, where she focused on a wide range of art law issues including fraud, insurance litigation, valuation, and restitution. Previously, she worked at Loyens & Loeff in Brussels, Belgium.

Super Lawyers recognized Barbara as a Rising Star in 2020 and 2021.

Barbara is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law and she earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University.

Barbara is fluent in English, French, and Italian, and is proficient in Spanish.

Barbara Luse focuses on white collar defense and regulatory enforcement with a particular focus on matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), international…

Education

Fordham University School of Law (J.D. 2013); Princeton University (A.B. 2004)

Bar Admissions

New York State; District of Columbia

Activities and Affiliations

Member, Art Law Committee (New York City Bar Association)

Member, Cultural Property Subcommittee (New York City Bar Association)

Member, Fondation pour le droit de l’art (FDA) (Art Law Foundation)

Co-Chair, American Foreign Law Association (AFLA)

Co-Chair, Young Patrons Committee, FIAF New York

Member, French American Chamber of Commerce

Member, Neue Galerie Council, New York

Member, Princeton Alumni Association, New York / Washington, D.C.

Member, New York State Bar Association

Member, District of Columbia Bar Association

Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that 38 of the firm's New York and Washington D.C.­based attorneys have been named to the 2021 Super Lawyers List across a wide range of practice areas. C&G co­founder Mark S Cohen and partners Jonathan S Abernethy and Daniel H Tabak have also been named to the Super Lawyers list of the top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area, and partner Karen H Bromberg has been recognized as one of the top 50 women lawyers in the New York metropolitan area.

Super Lawyers ranks outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only five percent of the lawyers in each state are selected as Super Lawyers, and only 2.5 percent are selected as Rising Stars.

Super Lawyers

Jonathan S Abernethy: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Kwaku Andoh: Mergers & Acquisitions
Elizabeth Bernhardt: Business Litigation
Thomas E Bezanson: Personal Injury – Products: Defense
Colin C Bridge: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Karen H Bromberg: Intellectual Property
Jason Brown: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Damir Cefo: Intellectual Property Litigation
Joanna K Chan: Securities Litigation
Mark S Cohen: Business Litigation
S Gale Dick: Business Litigation
Christian R Everdell: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Lawrence T Gresser: Business Litigation
Oliver S Haker: Business Litigation
Johannes Jonas: Mergers & Acquisitions
Nicholas J Kaiser: Real Estate
Jeffrey I. Lang: Business Litigation
Melissa H Maxman: Antitrust Litigation
Ellen Paltiel: General Litigation
Nathaniel P T Read: Business Litigation
Bonnie J Roe: Securities & Corporate Finance
Stephen M Sinaiko: Business Litigation
C Evan Stewart: Securities Litigation
Daniel H Tabak: Business Litigation
Scott D Thomson: Business Litigation
Alexandra Wald: Business Litigation
Ronald F Wick: Antitrust Litigation

Rising Stars

Luke Appling: Civil Litigation
Sharon L Barbour: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Drew S Dean: General Litigation
William Kalema: Business Litigation
Sophia Soejung Kim: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Sri Kuehnlenz: Civil Litigation
Winnifred A Lewis: Securities Litigation
Marvin J Lowenthal: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Barbara K Luse: Criminal Defense: White Collar
Matthew V Povolny: Business Litigation
Benjamin Zhu: Criminal Defense: White Collar

Cohen & Gresser is pleased to announce that 35 of the firm's New York and Washington D.C.­based attorneys have been named to the 2020 Super Lawyers List across a wide range of practice areas. C&G co-­founder Mark S Cohen and partners Jonathan S Abernethy and Daniel H Tabak have also been named to the Super Lawyers list of the top 100 lawyers in the New York metropolitan area, and partner Karen H Bromberg has been recognized as one of the top 50 women lawyers in the New York metropolitan area.
C&G welcomes the attorneys who joined the firm in 2017. "We’re very fortunate to have added these exceptional lawyers in New York and Paris," said Managing Partner, Lawrence T Gresser.  "We look forward to continuing to build our transactional and disputes practices in all of our offices in 2018."
The cryptocurrency industry should brace itself for increased scrutiny from the DOJ and other enforcement agencies. The DOJ recently announced the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”), which will have the authority to tackle investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency. NCET will not only pursue its own cases but will work closely with other federal agencies, subject matter experts, and law enforcement partners throughout the government to support existing and future cases across the country.

  • The announcement further suggests that NCET’s initial mandate will broaden the enforcement focus from criminal actors themselves to those who enable and facilitate illicit activities involving cryptocurrency.
  • Cryptocurrency exchanges should take appropriate steps to work with counsel to avoid becoming the subject of a DOJ investigation or prosecution.
  • The increased scrutiny will also likely extend to all cryptocurrency-focused businesses, NFT platforms, companies that accept cryptocurrency as payment, and even those that merely do business with third parties dealing in cryptocurrency.
  • Given the heightened scrutiny from the DOJ and a constantly evolving regulatory landscape, all companies in the industry should evaluate compliance programs and practices to mitigate risk and exposure.
In this C&G client alert, Christian R Everdell and Barbara K Luse explore the specifics of the NCET mandate, including its anticipated collaboration with the SEC and other federal agencies, and examine what’s on the horizon for cryptocurrency exchanges and other cryptocurrency-focused businesses. The authors identify some key takeaways for companies dealing with cryptocurrency, including cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto funds and financial institutions, and more.

On January 1, 2021, the Senate and the House of Representatives voted to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which introduced legislation that allows federal oversight for transactions involving antiquities and contains other provisions affecting the art market at large. In this C&G client alert, Christian Everdell and Barbara Luse discuss the impact of the new legislation and explore the question of what’s next for arts and antiquities businesses involved in high-value transactions.

In this C&G client alert, Christian Everdell and Barbara Luse discuss a recent congressional report released by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that exposes how Russian oligarchs looking to evade U.S. sanctions are able to exploit loopholes in the art industry and calls for more regulation in a notoriously opaque industry which, according to the report’s findings, undermines one of the most fundamental tools that U.S. administrations use to pressure foreign governments against “bad behavior.”

John W Gibson, Tim Harris, Barbara K Luse, and Charlotte Ritchie discuss the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (“the 2019 Regulations”) that recently came into force in the UK.  The 2019 Regulations extend anti-money laundering responsibilities to UK art market participants, including art dealers and other intermediaries, in response to the increasing recognition that high value art is used by criminals and terrorist groups to launder and hide money.