Pryor Cashman Partner William L. Charron, Co-Chair of the Art Law Group, authored “In Defense of the Laches Defense: Why Congress Should Not Be Permitted to Bar Courts from Considering the Laches Defense When Deciding Claims Brought Through the Federal HEAR Act,” to be published in the Winter 2026 edition of the Harvard Art Law Review. A “Preview” version of the article was released by the Harvard Art Law Review on February 23, 2026.

The article examines a proposed amendment to the federal Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act that would eliminate the equitable defense of laches in Holocaust-era art restitution claims. Bill argues that Congress cannot constitutionally use the HEAR Act to strip courts of their core authority and discretion to “decide” art restitution cases arising out of the World War II context once equitable jurisdiction has been vested by other laws.

Read the full article using the link above.