MLA Has Been Exclusively Retained by The National Gallery of Art to Find Its Next Secretary and General Counsel

Hanover, MD (April 28, 2022) — Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA), the world's leading legal search firm, today announced that it has been retained by The National Gallery of Art to recruit its next secretary and general counsel. Deborah Ben-Canaan, partner and senior practice leader, and Craig Donaldson, director, both with MLA’s In-House Counsel Recruiting team, are leading the search.

“We are honored and privileged to partner with The National Gallery of Art on its search for its next secretary and general counsel. Given the role that art plays in today’s society, it will be vital to identify an exceptional lawyer who has a true passion for The Gallery’s mission and for the arts,” said Deborah Ben-Canaan. “A general counsel who can be both strategic and operational, with specialized experience in the areas of contracts and negotiations (federal and non-federal), non-profit, intellectual property, licensing and technology agreements, and human resources-related matters, will be critical for success.”

The National Gallery of Art, founded as a gift to the nation, serves as a center of visual art, education and culture. Their collection of more than 150,000 paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photographs, prints and drawings spans the history of Western art and showcases some of the triumphs of human creativity. Across 363 days a year, The National Gallery offers a full spectrum of special exhibitions and public programs free of charge and before the pandemic, welcomed more than four million visitors each year – 60 percent from outside the District’s metropolitan area. In 2021, the National Gallery hosted 1.7 million visitors—the second highest of a U.S. art museum for that calendar year.