Lauren was awarded the Blakes Scholarship 2024-2025.
Lauren Bursey is in the final year of her PhD in Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Lauren grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, and pursued a Bachelors of Arts in History and Classical Civilisations (Hons) at Trinity College, University of Toronto. Following her passion in art law, Lauren moved to Chicago to complete a Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, with a certificate in Art and Museum Law from DePaul University College of Law. While there, she interned at the Office of General Counsel of the Smithsonian Museum and at the Centre for Art Law at the University of Geneva. Lauren then practiced law for several years in top law firms in Chicago and New York, with a focus on litigation and arbitration, public international law and art law. Recognising an opportunity in the convergence of international arbitration and art and cultural heritage disputes, Lauren sought further expertise by pursuing an LLM in Transnational Arbitration and Dispute Settlement at Sciences Po University, Paris. As part of her studies, she completed an internship with the Secretariat of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, DC.
Lauren’s research concerns the illicit trade in cultural heritage and the ineffectiveness of the transnational law regime (the mix of international treaties, domestic laws and regulations) which is meant to protect the destruction of cultural heritage and illicit trade. Lauren argues that the laws grew out of international humanitarian law and State-to-State warfare, but that States are no longer the sole actors in armed conflict and trade. Rather, the laws fail to account for the range of non-State actors and intermediaries in 21st Century trade and, thus, cannot be fully effective. Lauren’s work draws on her experience working in the transaction of and disputes over art and cultural heritage in law firms in the US and the UK, infusing practical knowledge with academic theory.
She is a frequent author of both academic, peer-reviewed articles and professional legal publications. In addition to speaking at conferences internationally and teaching contract law at the LSE, Lauren has guest lectured on LSE’s LLM cultural heritage course, Executive LLM art law course, Christie’s Education, Columbia University, ESCP Business School, and the Royal Society of Sculptors. In her free time, she races sailboats and runs marathons.
