Global art auction house Phillips has named Hartley Waltman as general counsel, Americas. Waltman, who joins Phillips after a 20-year career at Christie’s, is based in New York. Waltman will oversee the legal functions in North America and assume responsibility for Phillips’ legal and compliance functions throughout the Americas. He will also play an active role in Phillips’ top client business development and dealmaking activities and will report to chief legal counsel Martin Wilson, who is based in London.

Waltman was most recently senior vice president and senior counsel at Christie’s. Over the course of his tenure, he served as the primary legal counsel and business partner for each of the company’s 25 specialist departments. Among his many activities at Christie’s, he was the lead counsel for the sale of the Peggy and David Rockefeller Collection. Prior to this, he was a partner with Foreht Last Waltman & Katz.