(213) 600-2438
[email protected]
Matthew is Senior Counsel with Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley’s litigation practice group and resident in our Orange County office. Matthew litigates a range of disputes for our public agency clients in both trial and appellate courts, including suits involving inverse condemnation, utility user taxes, Public Records Act disputes, post-redevelopment disputes, rates and fees, government contracts, land use and cannabis regulation.
Matthew is admitted to the State Bar of California, the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Eastern Districts of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. He has represented clients at the trial court and appellate level in both state and federal court. His published appellate decisions include Essick v. County of Sonoma (2022) 81 Cal.App.5th 941,Alliance San Diego v. City of San Diego (2023) 94 Cal.App.5th 419, and representing amici curiae local governments inLegislature of State of California v. Weber (2024) 16 Cal.5th 237.
Before joining CHW, Matthew served as Chief Deputy Public Defender for Stanislaus County. In this role, Matthew managed a team of attorneys defending misdemeanor cases, including violations of local ordinances, coordinated with city and county officials on nuisance abatement strategies, and helped formulate his agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a deputy public defender, Matthew conducted 25 jury trials to verdict in felony and misdemeanor cases.
Matthew graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where he received the Alan Goldstein Award for excellence in criminal defense. While in law school, Matthew worked as a legal assistant for the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Inspector General. He also served as the Executive Senior Editor for the Georgetown Journal of International Law and on the board of the Equal Justice Foundation.
Practice Areas:
- Complex Litigation
- Public Law
- Public Revenues
- Class Action Defense
- Appellate Litigation
- Inverse Condemnation
- Public Records Act Disputes
- Contract Disputes
- Cannabis Regulation
- Land Use Litigation