Shoosmiths LLP

Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Matt, Senior Associate, is the Blockchain Litigation Lead at Shoosmiths and is a lawyer specialising in Crypto, Technology, Blockchain and Intellectual Property. 

His practice is designed to service businesses utilising blockchain technology, recovering crypto assets and advising on copyright, trade marks and data.

Having set the precedent in common law jurisdictions worldwide that crypto assets are property in 2019 following payment of a ransom in Bitcoin (see AA v Persons Unknown Re. Bitcoin), Matt has developed proven best practices in tracing and recovering stolen or misappropriated crypto assets across multiple jurisdictions for businesses and individuals. He has built a catalogue of successful High Court decisions, freezing crypto assets via interim injunctions and securing their return.

Matt’s background is in intellectual property and technology and he has advised on creation of NFTs considering copyright/ trade mark issues, for record labels to members clubs and beyond. He has also advised on trade mark disputes including against Amazon in the Court of Appeal and for Sky in the High Court, and works with clients in the technology, fast moving consumer goods, fashion, entertainment and music sectors, on commercial, intellectual property and litigation matters.

Advising on regulation, Matt has worked with Premier League football clubs, leaders in the world of boxing, and from fintech firm to start ups, on adoption of tokenisation, FSMA and FCA issues and implementation of stable coins.

He is featured advisor on THE CAKE, a directory for trusted Blockchain, De-Fi and NFT experts, and is a contributor to several publishers, writing on digital asset recovery, including for Bitcoin Magazine and Blockchain Industry Review. He has also co-written an academic paper entitled “Decentralised Autonomous Organisations: The Future of Corporate Governance or an Illusion”