Greg Werkheiser

Founding Partner
703.408.2002

Greg Werkheiser’s mission is connecting the lessons of our past to the leadership of our future. He is a trial lawyer and strategist who uses the law to protect cultural heritage and hold governments and institutions accountable.

Greg is the founding partner of Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC, a leading law firm focused on protecting access to history and culture as a human right. For more than two decades, Greg has led high-impact litigation and negotiations under federal and state law, helping clients safeguard historic places, cultural resources, and community identity. His work frequently sits at the intersection of civil rights, environmental law, and public accountability, and has helped shape outcomes in nationally significant disputes.

Greg has secured landmark victories for Tribal Nations, descendant communities, and public-interest clients across the country. He has protected sacred Indigenous sites from destruction, helped secure shared governance for descendants at James Madison’s Montpelier, and led efforts to return stolen art and artifacts to rightful owners. He developed the legal strategy that enabled the removal of the most prominent Confederate monuments in the United States. He is currently leading litigation to require federal compliance with historic preservation laws in connection with proposed changes to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, cases that test the limits of executive authority over nationally significant civic architecture.

Greg’s work has been featured in more than 1,000 media stories and has helped shape national conversations around cultural heritage, civil rights, and public accountability—including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NPR, and National Geographic. He was awarded the 2023 Simons Medal of Excellence for his contributions to cultural heritage preservation.

Greg is also co-founder and CEO of ARtGlass, a technology company pioneering the use of wearable augmented reality to transform how people experience history at cultural sites around the world. Its platform enables immersive, place-based storytelling that brings underrepresented histories to life for millions of visitors.

In addition to his legal and entrepreneurial work, Greg has been a pioneer in civic and leadership education, helping design programs that have prepared tens of thousands of emerging leaders across sectors. His work in this field has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Earlier in his career, Greg served as a speechwriter, including at the White House and the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

Greg graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law and the College of William & Mary, where he served as student body president. His path to college was made possible in part by the generosity of a stranger—an experience that continues to shape his work and values.

He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

See also: gregwerkheiser.com.

REPRESENTATIVE ENGAGEMENTS

  • Led the legal strategy enabling the removal of the most prominent Confederate “Lost Cause” monuments in the United States, including advising the Mayor of Richmond on the removal of 13 city-owned monuments and representing residents and institutions in litigation and negotiations that reshaped Monument Avenue.
  • Secured shared governance (“structural parity”) at James Madison’s Montpelier, representing the Montpelier Descendants Committee in a nationally watched dispute that resulted in descendant-led leadership of one of the country’s most significant historic sites—the first achievement of its kind in the museum field.
  • Protected Rassawek, the ancestral capital of the Monacan Indian Nation, from destruction, preventing the disturbance of ancestral burials and preserving a site designated among America’s most endangered historic places, following a multi-year advocacy and litigation campaign that mobilized national support.
  • Recovered the “Wounded Indian” sculpture for its rightful owner, resolving a decades-long dispute between the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association and the Chrysler Museum of Art and establishing an important precedent in cultural property restitution.
  • Represented multiple federally recognized Tribal Nations in strengthening sovereignty and consultation rights, including negotiating executive-level commitments requiring state agencies to engage in government-to-government consultation on projects affecting cultural resources.
  • Led civil rights litigation restoring recognition and protections for Tribal communities, challenging state actions that undermined longstanding recognition and interfered with tribal governance and cultural heritage.
  • Negotiated landmark community benefit and mitigation agreements in connection with offshore wind development, securing millions of dollars for affected communities while advancing a model for balancing renewable energy development with protection of historic viewsheds and cultural resources.
  • Counseled governments and institutions on combating the illicit antiquities trade, advising on strategies to address looting, trafficking, and the protection of cultural heritage in a multi-billion-dollar global market.
  • Currently leading high-profile federal litigation to enforce historic preservation laws in connection with proposed changes to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, cases that test the limits of executive authority and the application of NHPA and NEPA to nationally significant civic architecture.

REPRESENTATIVE PRESENTATIONS

Selected keynote addresses, featured presentations, and invited talks on cultural heritage, law, and public leadership:

  • Speaker: “The Battle to Honor Native and Black Cultural Heritage,” SXSW, Austin, TX
  • Keynote Speaker: “Cultural Heritage as Human Right,” Gonzaga University School of Law International Human Rights Conference, Florence, Italy
  • Keynote Speaker: “Cultural Heritage Is Key to our Future,” Simons Medal of Excellence Award, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
  • Keynote Speaker: “Cultural Heritage Law: Stories from the Battlefront,” College of Charleston, Charleston, SC
  • Keynote Speaker: “Introducing Cultural Heritage Law,” University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, IL
  • Keynote Speaker: “The Future of History,” United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
  • Keynote Speaker: “The Future of History,” Preserve Iowa Summit, Davenport, IA
  • Plenary Speaker: “Tribal Energy Development & Cultural Preservation,” Ute Tribe Energy Conference & Expo, Denver, CO
  • Keynote Speaker: “The Future of Cultural Property Law,” Santa Clara University School of Law
  • Featured Speaker: “Cultural Heritage and Exponential Technologies,” National Trust for Historic Preservation, PastForward Conference

REPRESENTATIVE PRESS

Greg’s work has appeared in more than 500 media outlets, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on National Public Radio. Examples include:

For more press coverage, see here.

ADMISSIONS

  • District of Columbia Bar
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S District Court for the Western District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, pro hac vice
  • Virginia State Bar
  • Virginia Supreme Court