After working several years as a litigation paralegal, Matt attended Florida State University College of Law, where he graduated with highest honors in 2002.

During law school, Matt earned 14 “book awards” (given for the highest grade in a course). He worked during all three years of law school as Professor Charles Ehrhardt’s sole research assistant, served as senior articles editor for the FSU Law Review, clerked in private practice, and helped raise two young daughters.

Upon graduating law school, Matt clerked for two years for the Hon. Robert L. Hinkle, U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Florida, in Tallahassee. While living in Tallahassee, he twice served as an adjunct professor to the FSU School of Criminology, teaching a graduate course on criminal law and individual rights.

Matt joined the firm in 2004 and became a shareholder in 2009. His practice has focused on complex individual and class actions with extensive trial experience. He currently co-chairs the firm’s class action department. He has been peer-nominated and selected as a Florida “Super Lawyer” each year since 2009. He is rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell. He is a member of the Florida Supreme Court Standard Jury Instructions Committee (Civil).

From a practice perspective, Matt delights in confronting corporate wrongdoers; but he also believes lawyers can be aggressive and effective while maintaining civility and professional courtesy. More than 20 attorneys have peer-reviewed Matt on Martindale-Hubbell and all have given him 5/5 stars for ethical conduct. Corporate defense counsel opposite Matt through trial and appeal describe him as having “high ethical standards” and being “true to his word.”

Year Joined Law Firm
2004
Present Position with Law Firm
Shareholder
Areas of Practice
Complex Individual & Class Actions
Mass Torts Litigation
Tobacco Litigation

Bar Admissions
Florida
U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida
U.S. District Court District of New Mexico
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit

Education
Florida State University College of Law, Tallahassee, Florida, 2002
Honors: Graduated With Highest Honors
Honors: Board Member, FSU College of Law ACLU
Honors: Meritorious Service Award for his service to the Law Review
Honors: Order of the Coif
Honors: 14 Book Awards
Honors: Law Review: FSU Law Review, Senior Articles Editor
B.S., University of Southern Mississippi, 1992
Major: History
B.S., University of Southern Mississippi, 1993
Honors: With Honors
Major: Paralegal

Published Works
Senior Writer, The American Trial Lawyer
Equitable Repudiation: Toward a Doctrine of Fallible Perfection in Statutory Interpretation, 29 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 303, 2001
Bad Faith or No Faith? Finding a Place for Wrongful Refusal to Defend In Florida’s Bad Faith Jurisprudence, 29 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 1389, 2002
Pulling Skeletons from the Closet: A Look Into the Work-Product Doctrine as Applied to Expert Witnesses, 31 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 67, 2003

Current & Former Judicial Appointments
Plaintiffs’ Leadership Committee (Co-Lead Counsel), MDL 3051, In re ARC Airbags Inflators Products Liability Litig. (N.D. Ga. – Hon. Eleanor L. Ross)
Plaintiffs’ Steering Cmte., Discovery Co-Chair, MDL No. 2913, In re: JUUL Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices & Products Liability Litig. (N.D. Cal. – Hon. William H. Orrick)
Plaintiffs’ Steering Cmte. & Plaintiffs’ Executive Cmte., MDL No. 2816, In re: Sorin 3T Heater Cooler System (W.D. Pa. – Hon. John E. Jones, III)
Plaintiffs’ Executive Cmte & Plaintiffs’ Oversight Cmte., Co-Chair, Expert Cmte., MDL No. 2695, In re: Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. Marketing and Sales Practices Litig. (D.N.M. – Hon. James O. Browning)
Plaintiffs’ Steering Cmte., Plaintiffs’ Discovery Liaison & Bellwether Trial Counsel, MDL No. 2570, In re: Cook Medical, Inc. IVC Filters, Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litig. (S.D. Ind. – Hon. Richard L. Young)
Plaintiffs’ Steering Cmte., MDL No. 2641, In re: Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litig. (D. Ariz. – Hon. David G. Campbell)
Plaintiffs’ Leadership Cmte., Class Counsel & Bellwether Trial Counsel (MRGO PSLC), In re: Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litig., Case No. 05-4182 (E.D. La. – Hon. Stanwood R. Duval, Jr.)
Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel for all Engle Progeny Tobacco Cases, 2007–present (Fla. 1st Jud. Cir. – Hon. Terry Terrell)

Representative Cases
Martin vs. RJR et al. ($30 million jury verdict)
Gray vs. RJR et al. ($9.2 million jury verdict)
Ward vs. RJR et al. ($2.7 million jury verdict)
Guy vs. Roads Inc. of NW Florida ($4.25 million jury verdict)
Danielson v. PM USA Inc. ($2.9 million jury verdict)

Prior Employment
Hon. Robert L. Hinkle, U.S. District Judge Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee, Law Clerk