'A work of art', wrote Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov, 'has no importance whatever to society.' For its part, society appears never to have concurred, particularly in the modern era when, aesthetic or psychological considerations aside, the 'art market' has become very important in financial terms.

In the mid to late 1980s, the art and heritage trade boomed.

As a reflection of the field's popularity, the freshly launched Independent newspaper even ran a regular art market column in its news pages.

And business at one of the country's leading auction houses, Christies, was humming.Then came the recession and the art and heritage bubbles burst with a loud pop.

But ironically, the fact that art is no longer a sellers' market has meant increased workloads for the Christies in-house legal team.

Buyers are now more cautious, more inclined to hammer out deals, and much more insistent on having all aspects of a consignment detailed in a contract.

Also, greater buyer awareness can lead to disputes over authenticity.This trend has led to the expansion of the Christies' legal team in recent years.

But there are other factors contributing to growth, not the least of which is the auction house's ability to weather the economic downturn and increase its own business.

In 1994 turnover increased by £21 million over the previous years to nearly £168 million.

Also, three years ago, Christies decided actively to educate provincial law firms in the complexities of taxation and other legal pitfalls as they apply to heritage matters.Christies has two main houses -- London and New York -- and all its full-time legal staff are based in one of those cities.

The worldwide legal operation is run from the headquarters in St James's and is led by group legal director and company secretary Richard Aydon, a former partner at the City law firm Stephenson Harwood.

He is directly supported in London by two other solicitors -- Maria Ludkin and Johanna Hall -- two posts added in the last three years.Running parallel to Mr Aydon's main legal team in London is the heritage and taxation department which is headed by another former Stephenson Harwood partner, Edward Manisty.

Across the Atlantic, the New York legal team is led by a new 'general counsel', Linda Pinkerton, who came to Christies from the legal department at the J Paul Getty Museum.

One other lawyer, Susan Sawyer, completes the New York office.Christies' smaller outlets -- the two most important being Geneva and Hong Kong -- get supplementary legal advice from private firms.As Mr Aydon explains, the expanding legal work generated by Christies -- both in-house and outside -- is a reflection of changing attitudes to art buying.

'People are increasingly prone to want to have their deals with us formalised.

In the old days, things were done largely orally.

That is not the case now.

Ultimately, it is not in the clients' interest that things should be conducted informally.

And nor is it in ours.'But, in addition to more detailed contractual work, there are other factors which make the buying and selling of art more complicated than it was 20 years ago.

Mr Aydon points to a Christies' lending service, whereby the auction house will make advances against the sec urity of items which have been consigned.

'Each case has to be looked at on its own merits,' he emphasises, 'but it is a service which is offered where appropriate, and it involves a further layer of legal work to set up.'Dealing with disputes is another area of involvement for Mr Aydon's team.

The real bane of any business which deals with large quantities of art or other chattels is that items occasionally go missing.

When something is lost, then it is down to the lawyers to agree settlement terms.More challenging perhaps are disputes over authenticity.

As part of its conditions of business, Christies makes an effective guarantee that a piece of art or an antique is exactly what it is said to be.

'If a client can demonstrate that something that has passed through here and has been bought in a Christies sale is not authentic, then they can get their money back from Christies,' says Mr Aydon.However, conflict can arise over 'whether they have met the requirements necessary to have the benefit of that guarantee'.

In other words, arguments can ensue over whether a client has proved that a piece is not authentic.

Occasionally, that means litigation, outside lawyers and even court hearings, although Mr Aydon stresses that such cases are rare considering the number of items passing through Christies' sale rooms each year -- some 250,000 worldwide.On the strategic side, Mr Manisty was brought in to Christies in 1992 to head up the now 25-year-old heritage and taxation advisory service.

Primarily, the department offers tax-related advice regarding chattels and other heritage property to clients off the street, as well as to other professionals, in particular to law firms.It is an esoteric field.

'Some firms perhaps once in their practising lifetime will face a problem in this area,' says Mr Manisty.

'So it is my function to give advice to firms regarding complex and unusual practices such as exemptions, offers in lieu of tax and private treaty sales to public museums.'The main tool in Mr Manisty's educational kit-bag is a two-year old quarterly newsletter called the Christies Bulletin.

Distributed to private practice solicitors around the country, the newsletter is pitched at a fairly technical level.Mr Manisty was especially concerned that the newsletter would not be seen purely as promotion for Christies, but as a useful mode of education.

For example, recent Bulletin articles cover subjects ranging from new procedures for the register of conditionally exempt works of art -- commonly known as the 'V & A list', to the capacity of charities to 'deacquisition' works of art.The heritage and taxation arm of Christies' legal department has also grown during the last few years.

Assisting him is Nicholas Parnell -- formerly with the capital taxes office of the Inland Revenue -- and another non-legally qualified staffer who does valuations.According to department head Mr Aydon, recruits to Christies' legal department mainly come from private practice and they must have 'pretty sound commercial instincts'.They must also be alive to the sensitivities of those who lives revolve around the business.

Explains Mr Manisty: 'For the bulk of the experts and specialists here, their work is almost their hobby.

One has to have people who are going to put across what some of them regard as boring legal issues in a way which is user friendly.'