About Matthew
Matthew Swanlund built his legal foundations in Southern California. He earned a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1996 and completed his J.D. at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1999. Those years set a pattern: an interest in the arts and a practical approach to law that shows up across his career.
He began practicing at Freeman, Freeman & Smiley LLP in 2000 and moved to Van Etten Suzumoto & Becket LLP as an associate in 2001. In 2006 he took a counsel role at McGuireWoods LLP, where he worked on transactional and advisory matters. In 2015 he left the large-firm track to found Aesthetic Legal and build a smaller practice that intersects art, business and property. In 2017 he added a classroom role as an adjunct professor at UC Irvine School of Law, teaching students about real-world issues that lawyers face outside the courtroom.
Swanlund’s background crosses law, real estate and cultural institutions. He holds a license as a real estate broker from the California Department of Real Estate. That credential complements his transactional work and gives him an extra layer of familiarity with property deals, leases and related documentation. On the public side, he served on the City of Santa Monica Arts Commission from 2004 to 2006 and has been involved with California Lawyers for the Arts since 2002, including a term on its board in 2005–2006.
Community and professional groups are a steady presence in his professional life. He has served on the boards of the LAX Coastal Chamber of Commerce, the LAX Coastal Education Foundation and UCLA Bruin Professionals since 2016. He is a member of the LA County Bar Association and joined the organization in 1999. He is also part of The Esquire Network, which he joined in 2015. He regularly handles pro bono matters through California Lawyers for the Arts’ panel, reflecting an ongoing link to arts-related legal work.
Colleagues and students describe Swanlund as pragmatic and detail-oriented, inclined toward clear agreements and practical outcomes rather than litigation at all costs. He runs Aesthetic Legal from California and manages a caseload that includes business transactions, real estate matters and issues that touch on the arts and creative industries. He currently practices at Aesthetic Legal, handling business, real estate and arts-related legal matters for clients in California.
