Katherine de Vos Devine

Precise expertise for creative businesses.

Katherine combines a PhD in Art History with a law degree from Duke University to deliver sophisticated legal strategies that others simply miss. As founder of Implement Legal, she advises artists, creative entrepreneurs, and cultural institutions on intellectual property matters requiring both analytical rigor and cultural fluency.

She serves as co-chair of the College Art Association Committee on Intellectual Property and teaches Art and Entertainment Law at Queens University of Charlotte. Her expertise has taken her to Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, UC Berkeley, and Art Basel, where she speaks on copyright, fair use, and artists' rights.

Katherine's practice focuses on relational law—a legal strategy that protects individual rights while preserving the creative ecosystems her clients depend on. Her clients include established artists securing six-figure public art contracts, fashion houses navigating international trademark strategy, and museums structuring major donations.

Before founding the firm, Katherine directed the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. She also worked with startup nonprofits and private foundations at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, and assisted chef David Bouley with his Michelin-starred restaurant empire. This breadth of experience across arts, business, and law enables her to see opportunities—and risks—that traditional legal advisors overlook.

Outside the office, Katherine is obsessed with the history of knowledge and networks—from medieval grimoires (the first trade secrets!) to William Morris's design reform battles to contemporary IP law. She writes Protect Your Magic, a Substack exploring intellectual property through a feminist lens. She solves word puzzles daily and loves exploring forests and libraries.