Attorneys

Matt began his legal career at Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP in Kansas City. Matt left Blackwell Sanders to serve as a law clerk for The Honorable Nanette K. Laughrey, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. At the conclusion of his clerkship in September 2006, Matt joined Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP as an associate.

Prior to law school, Matt served as the Campaign Coordinator for United States Representative Ike Skelton, and he served in a variety of policy and campaign internships for elected officials.

Since joining Stueve Siegel Hanson, Matt has been active in a variety of cases, including:

Auction rate securities litigation (Securities Litigation) Matt serves on the leadership team in several of the cases brought against sellers of so called auction rate securities or ARS. The cases generally allege that the broker-dealers involved in the sale of ARS materially misrepresented the liquidity and risks of the securities to individual investors and corporations by labeling these securities as cash equivalents in press releases, monthly account statements, individual communications with investors, and other investment guidance material. The claims, brought under the securities laws on the United States, allege that the promised liquidity of the auction rate securities was created through artificial intervention in the auctions by the broker-dealers. The litigation was initiated when the market for auction rate securities collapsed when all of the major broker-dealers announced that they will no longer purchase auction rate securities for their own accounts to ensure that the securities would remain liquid. In the past several months, thousands of auctions run by the broker-dealers failed and over $200 billion in auction rate securities that were once offered as cash equivalents are now illiquid, resulting in economic losses and severe hardships for investors.

In re H&R Block Express IRA Marketing Litigation (Consumer Class Action) Matt serves on the leadership team prosecuting consumer and securities claims against H&R Block over allegedly improper sales of H&R Block's Express IRA product. The Complaint alleges that H&R Block made misrepresentations regarding the fees associated with the Express IRA product, and that the Express IRA constitutes a security. Several dozen cases were filed around the country alleging similar improper conduct, which were eventually consolidated by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Seaboard Corporation, et al. v. Grindrod Limited, et al. (Commercial Litigation) Matt is currently representing Seaboard Corporation in a commercial tort case against Grindrod Limited, the largest logistics and shipping company in South Africa, and related entities. The Petition alleges that Grindrod implemented a conspiracy using improperly-obtained confidential information to raid Seaboard of key employees and force the transfer of Seaboard's highly profitable overseas trading and shipping business for a price far below fair market value. Grindrod has repeatedly sought to compel arbitration, and several courts have rebuffed that effort. In January 2008, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District rejected Grindrod's efforts, and Matt was instrumental in preparing the matter for appeal. Grindrod has now sought a writ of certiorari from the United States Supreme Court.

Norman v. Dell Inc. (Wage and Hour Litigation) Matt is counsel for a certified class of consumer sales representatives employed by Dell in call centers located in Roseburg, Oregon, Nashville, Tennessee, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Round Rock, Texas. In 2008, the Honorable Thomas Coffin of the United States District Court for the District of Oregon certified the case as a collective action under the FLSA and ordered that notice be provided to eligible class members. Matt has recently instituted similar litigation against Dell in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on behalf of a class of business sales representatives.

Marshall v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Wage and Hour Litigation) Matt is counsel for a certified class of retail representatives employed by R.J. Reynolds nationwide. In 2007, the Honorable Richard E. Dorr of the Western District of Missouri certified the case as a collective action under the FLSA and ordered that notice be provided to eligible class members.

Matt earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Missouri in Columbia as part of a joint undergraduate/law program. During law school, Matt served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of Dispute Resolution and he was active in several student organizations.

Matt is active in a wide variety of community groups, and he serves on the leadership board for the following organizations:

• Western District of Missouri Federal Law Clerk Society (Co-Chair)

• Young Lawyers Section of the Lawyers Association of Kansas City (Board of Directors and Chair of Social Committee)

• Young Lawyers Section of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (Board of Directors and Vice Chair of CLE Committee) (effective January 2009)

• Committee for County Progress (Board of Directors)

• Mizzou Alumni Association Kansas City Chapter (Board of Directors and Chair of Awards Committee)

• The American Legion Boys State of Missouri, Inc. (Treasurer and Executive Committee)

• Missouri Institute for Justice PAC (Board of Directors)