We went out on a limb in titling this podcast because Matt is, well, not just a “great” or “wonderful” lawyer or person; rather, he’s a badass on all fronts and for many reasons.
He’s a nationally recognized and highly regarded trial lawyer, but also a true mentor, ally, and all-around good guy.
In terms of his professional accolades, they are countless. Matt is widely renowned for his skill in the courtroom and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Recognized as “an absolutely first-class trial practitioner” by Chambers USA, he is described as “truly gifted at cross-examinations and at communicating with a jury.” The Daily Business Review has twice chosen him as the “Most Effective Lawyer” in the criminal law category.
The presiding judge on a highly publicized, eight-week-long Foreign Corrupt Practices Act trial commented about Matt’s trial skills: “his cross-examination was about as textbook an example of a vigorous cross-examination as I’ve ever seen.” In a separate, high profile white collar criminal matter in the Southern District of New York, the presiding judge called Matt’s summation “among the top 2-3 [summations] I have seen in my 25 years on the bench.”
Before joining Kobre & Kim, Matt was a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice (as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida), where he was also chief of the Criminal Division. He also served as a prosecutor in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, during which time he trained Assistant District Attorneys in trial advocacy as the director of legal training.
When he’s not trying or prepping complex and bet-the-company cases, Matt spends his time with his wonderful wife and son and mentoring others, particularly, women. He takes pride in helping young lawyers think outside the box and become the best version of themselves.
You can listen to this episode via the below link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/athena-rising-the-power-of-the-female-lawyer-collective/id1679384822?i=1000655850600
This episode is a little over an hour long. We encourage you to listen to all of it, but here are some useful time stamps:
2:58 – why Matt became a defense attorney after 21 years as a prosecutor (and only for the firm Kobre & Kim)
5:20 – the internal struggle in giving up his “identity” and the “calling” of being a prosecutor
12:32 – how Matt learned to become a businessman and “ask for money” on the defense side
12:19 – why Matt the defense lawyer is not much different from Matt the prosecutor
19:20 – how Matt manages being honest to himself and the court, while balancing client needs
23:31 – “It’s amazing how many prosecutors think the system is just and right, and then they go to the other side and all of a sudden, ‘This system is just unbelievably screwed up’ … and of course, the only thing that’s changed is your perspective has widely shifted. The system has not changed; you’ve changed. And with it, your perspective has changed.”
25:57 – why Matt thinks putting a defendant on the stand shifts the burden of proof in a criminal case
33:35 – rolling the dice and not putting on a defense case in United States v. Raoul Weil
38:25 – Matt’s biggest learning lesson from the Weil case
45:14 – “the day I am not nervous is the day I f*^)$! quit”
48:31 – why Matt has a dive/scuba slate in his shower
50:45 – “jury selection is a process of deselection”
53:49 – “juries are really not unpredictable … if you have sat through the trial, they usually get it right”
56:31 – how growing up changes how a trial lawyer relates to a jury
1:01:03 – why sounding like a normal person (not a lawyer) is the best way to relate to a jury (and why Matt gets inspiration from stand-up comedians)
1:02:30 – why mentorship matters to Matt
1:03:52 – what Allies can do to help bridge the wealth/pay gap between men and women
1:05:20 – what steps Allies can take to close the opportunity gap between men and women
1:07:20 – why Matt relies on Adrianna, a female partner in his firm, to run a case and “get” the technical aspects down
1:08:58 – why firms need to take womens’ workloads into account
1:13:24 – best personal advice that Matt has ever received
1:14:17 – Matt’s most important failure that he is now grateful for
1:17:00 – what Matt hopes his legacy will be