What We Do

The creative industries have become increasingly important to economic well being.

Landry and Bianchini in The Creative City in 1995 rightly predicted that “the industries of the twenty-first century will depend increasingly on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation”. And in 2002 the social and economic theorist Richard Florida in The Rise of the Creative Class suggests that human creativity is the ultimate human resource.

Matters Creative (MC) provides one to one commercial advice and consultancy services to private and corporate clients, particularly those who operate in the creative industries. These include artists, art organisations, architects, fashion designers, gallerists, musicians, restaurateurs and those in the film and theatre sectors.

Combined with our associated legal practice gunnercooke LLP with over 125 senior commercial lawyers we therefore offer a full service of legal and advisory services.

We share office space in central London with our accountants and tax consultants Hogbens Dunphy with whom we also share expertise, many clients and many good moments!

Who We Are

John Shield is an English qualified international lawyer who founded MC in September 2013. Marina Bru Cruz is a lawyer qualified in Madrid and joined John in 2014 at the London office. Marina is back working in Madrid but can be available for consultancy work for Spanish clients.

John specialises in real estate, general corporate and commercial work in the world of Fashion, Food and Art. He has also worked with many art organisations including continuing board membership of the Liverpool Biennial and has advised on many transactions in the UK and internationally in relation to commissions, exhibitions and other art events.

John has recently covered areas such as artworks, transfer of title, commercial contract drafting, high value residential real estate both UK and abroad, commercial and real estate matters, L&T disputes, corporate investment in online start up company, shareholder disputes and film investment.

John often collaborates with other gunnercooke partners, particularly Shilpen Savani (employment), Sofia Jorgensen (corporate) and David Blackburn (real estate).

John is joined in the office by his PA Nina Huhtala.