Matthew Schwartz

About Matthew Schwartz

Senior legal counsel with 15+ years of business and legal affairs experience across the financial, entertainment, and technology industries. My career began in big law focused on structured finance. Since that time, I spent six years in a combination of content licensing, video distribution, and premium TV network support roles, and four years leading a commercial and procurement legal team in the software/data/advertising sectors. Currently, I work in eCommerce on cutting-edge partnerships. Experience also includes significant strategic and project management responsibilities (having been at a TV network that was acquired, and later on the deal team for three major technology company mergers) as well as human resources guidance. Business-first professional with a deep history of volunteer experience in the non-profit and political sectors, plus a demonstrated background in event planning. Strong interest and history in the performing arts, including theater and a cappella. Degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Experience

1. Associate General Counsel, Partnerships

   Shopify

   Jan 2023 — Present · NY, US

   The Partnerships team works across every vertical, acts as a force multiplier to help Shopify 10x its impact for merchants, and is responsible for features and services powered by third parties. As Associate General Counsel, I focus on complex partnerships such as those where Shopify further accelerates and diversifies its business by taking an equity stake in a partner. I also serve as the legal lead for Shopify\'s global relationships with our leading artificial intelligence & sales channel partners, including OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Perplexity.Partnerships legal projects tend to be quite varied. Our small team covers Shopify\'s app store ecosystem, financial solutions (including merchant lending / credit products), backend technology integrations, advertising/sales channel partnerships, and AI solutions (such as agentic checkout via new protocols), just to name a few. The work often includes product counseling, including contracting for the launch of new products under development, and project management.

Education

• University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

  JD

  2006 — 2009

• Dartmouth College

  BA, Government, Theater

  2002 — 2006

• The Wharton School

  Certificate, Business & Public Policy

  2008 — 2009

Skills

• Licensing
• Research
• Music Licensing
• Marketing
• Microsoft Office
• Cable Television
• Public Relations
• Anti-Piracy
• Content Strategy
• Fundraising
• Marketing Strategy
• Intellectual Property
• Leadership
• Production Support
• Nonprofits
• Event Planning
• Social Media
• Party Planning
• Public Speaking
• Media & Entertainment
• Editing
• Strategic Partnerships
• Legal Writing
• Product Innovation
• Event Management
• Corporate Law
• Software as a Service (Saas)
• Business Development
• Acting
• Legal Research
• Non-Profits