Bio
Matt is an accomplished litigator with over 15 years of experience handling federal and state cases, including civil and appellate litigation, along with arbitration proceedings. As Practice Group Chair of PilieroMazza’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group and Chair of the False Claims Act (FCA) and Audits & Investigations teams, Matt has a unique perspective on successful litigation strategies to achieve the best possible outcomes for government contractors and commercial businesses. He is particularly adept at identifying weak spots in an opponent’s case, often leading to successful dismissals or early resolution of disputes, ultimately avoiding an expensive trial.
Matt has significant first-chair trial and appellate experience in a diverse array of areas, including the FCA; government and private sector contracts; labor and employment; wage and hour disputes; and business litigation, including business torts, unfair competition, trade secrets, and non-compete and non-solicitation disputes. His practice also extends to shareholder direct and derivative litigation, securities fraud defense, commercial mergers and acquisitions (M&A) disputes, and appeals.
Moreover, Matt counsels and represents businesses facing investigations conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal and state regulators, including matters involving the FCA and government contractor suspension and debarment proceedings. Furthermore, he represents tribes and tribally-owned entities in state and federal courts, handling a range of issues, such as strategic assertion of sovereign immunity defenses. Matt is also among a small group of lawyers in the United States who represented a company in a successful appeal of a New York Stock Exchange delisting decision.
In addition to earning favorable verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of clients, Matt is highly skilled at helping clients avoid litigation through counseling, training, risk management assessments, internal audits and investigations, and collaborative and adversarial negotiation. Clients also benefit from his ability to navigate complex federal and state laws and regulations, effectively communicating with clients, adversaries, investors, the government, and the public.
Related Practice Areas
Representative Matters
Representative Experience
- Represent small and mid-size businesses in FCA, labor and employment, appellate, corporate, and general litigation matters in federal and state courts, arbitration, and mediation, and before administrative bodies.
- Litigate bid protests before the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC).
- Litigate government contract claims and appeals before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA).
- Litigate size and status protests before the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and its Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA).
- Represent and advise clients on matters related to investigations by the DOJ, state Attorneys General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and various Offices of Inspector General, including on FCA and Procurement Integrity Act matters.
- Advise for-profit and non-profit companies on employment and business best practices, corporate governance, and risk management protocols.
- Advise and consult with restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality-industry clients on a wide range of legal issues affecting hospitality and food service industries, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), wage-and-hour issues, and tipped-pay practices.
General Litigation & Dispute Resolution
- Obtained $3.5 Million jury verdict for construction industry client after a project manager and a group of subcontractors misappropriated client profits through embezzlement and kick-back scheme involving the award of subcontracts to family members.
- Obtained $1.65 Million judgment for government contractor after an employee misappropriated the client’s funds through a complex embezzlement scheme involving the creation of fraudulent invoices and allocation of unauthorized bonuses.
- Obtained dismissal of state court litigation filed by subcontractor claiming the prime contractor (our client) failed to award subcontractor’s full workshare in accordance with subcontract terms.
- Obtained dismissal of federal court litigation initiated by disappointed bidder claiming client tortiously interfered with its employment relationships and misappropriated its trade secrets by hiring incumbent staff after new contract award.
- Defended publicly traded company in $330 Million federal securities fraud litigation, filing a motion to dismiss that ultimately led to a small settlement.
- Successfully appealed a New York Stock Exchange decision to delist the stock of a client and publicly traded company from trading on the Exchange.
- Won a judgment for the defense on all claims through a successful plea in bar in Virginia state court on behalf of a small business client where a former employee of the company claimed an ownership interest in the company based on an unenforceable contract.
- Won summary judgment in favor of a Washington, D.C., landlord who was sued by former tenants for negligence, fraud, and breach of lease.
- Successfully represented small businesses in appeals of SBA’s denial of forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program loans, resulting in revised agency decisions and hundreds of thousands of dollars in forgiven loans.
False Claims Act and Investigations
- Defended client in $1.4 Billion qui tam action alleging client misrepresented its eligibility for the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program.
- Defended client in multi-billion dollar FCA and antitrust investigation related to alleged bid-fixing scheme in the award of federal contracts.
- Obtained dismissal with prejudice of $150 Million qui tam action alleging client improperly obtained 8(a) small business contracts for which it was not eligible.
- Defended client in large-scale FCA and antitrust investigation related to allegations of price fixing and misrepresentations of product quality related to the sale of products to the federal government.
- Defended client in FCA investigation and qui tam litigation related to allegations of misrepresentation of product origin and quality, resulting in dismissal of litigation.
- Defended client in FCA investigation related to alleged overbilling on federal contracts.
- Defended client in FCA investigation related to a subcontractor’s alleged overbilling on federal contracts which the client allegedly passed through to the federal government.
- Defended client in FCA investigation related to allegations that joint venture partners failed to meet performance of work and limitations on subcontracting requirements on a federal construction contract.
- Defended client in FCA investigation related to client’s termination of a former employee allegedly as a result of the employee’s reports of potential FCA violations
- Represented HUBZone government contractor in FCA investigation and subsequent litigation related to allegations client did not meet HUBZone qualification standards.
- Represented client in FCA investigation related to allegations that government contractor did not meet HUBZone program requirements due to employees allegedly not performing genuine work.
- Represented non-profit organization in FCA investigation related to alleged misuse of grant funds and alleged misrepresentations on grant applications.
- Served as outside consultant in appellate defense of $30 Million FCA litigation verdict.
- Conducted internal FCA and risk management investigations on behalf of for-profit and non-profit clients.
- Defended government contractor in investigation by Department of State Office of Inspector General related to allegations of whistleblower retaliation, resulting in a finding that the client did not engage in retaliation.
- Represented small business federal contractor in OIG investigation related to allegations that client received contracts as a result of improper relationship with a government official.
- Represented numerous clients in responding to grand jury subpoenas, civil investigative demands, and requests for information related to FCA and other government investigations.
Employment
- Won a victory on all argued issues before the Court of Appeals of Maryland (now known as the Supreme Court of Maryland) in a wage-and-hour case which established Maryland public policy and clarified applicability of Maryland wage-payment laws. See Cunningham v. Feinberg, 441 Md. 310 (2015).
- Obtained dismissal of wage-and-hour claims and summary judgment on contract-related claims on behalf of corporate client in a suit by a former company Chief Financial Officer who alleged he was owed shares of company stock as part of his compensation package. See India Globalization Capital, Inc. v. Apogee Financial Investments, Inc., 2022 WL 671172 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 4, 2022) (motion to dismiss); 2023 WL 4637551 (July 20, 2023) (summary judgment).
- Obtained dismissal with prejudice of lawsuit filed by client’s former employee claiming violations of the ADA, disparate treatment discrimination, retaliation under Title VII and NDAA whistleblower statutes, libel, and tortious interference following employee’s termination. See Patel v. Credence Management Solutions, 2021 WL 1439675 (E.D. Va. Mar. 15, 2021), aff’d, 2023 WL 5348340 (4th Cir. Aug. 21, 2023).
- Obtained dismissal of lawsuit filed by client’s former employee claiming she was discriminated against based on her race, gender, religion, and national origin and that she was retaliated against based on engaging in protected activity. See Ashhab-Jones v. Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs, LLC, 2020 WL 6262090 (D.D.C. Oct. 23, 2020).
- Defended small business recruiting and staff augmentation firm in large-scale FLSA and state collective and class action wage-and-hour suit, resulting in favorable settlement.
- Represented government contractor in National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proceeding, resulting in a decision in favor of the client.
- Defended a Washington, D.C., restaurant and its owner in a large-scale FLSA case, limiting plaintiff’s claims substantially on summary judgment and then obtaining a full judgment in favor of the clients through a directed verdict at trial.
Government Contracts
- Defended award of $195 Million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to small business IT contractor through SBA size protest, multiple GAO bid protests, and COFC bid protest. This followed representing the client on two successful GAO protests on behalf of the same client for the same procurement, where the agency took corrective action, allowing for eventual award to the client. See Systems Implementers, Inc. v. United States, 162 Fed. Cl. 754 (2022).
- Negotiated $3.2 Million settlement on appeal from denial of request for equitable adjustment arguing constructive change and negligent government estimate.
- Represented government contractor before the CBCA on a challenge to termination for default, resulting in conversion to termination for convenience and payment of monetary settlement to the client.
- In first-of-its-kind decision, successfully protested Department of the Navy’s decision to issue solicitation for food service attendant contract subject to Randolph-Sheppard Act, where GAO determined that food service attendant services do not constitute operation of a cafeteria. See JW Mills Mgmt., LLC, B-420416 (Mar. 24, 2022).
- Defended $59 Million contract award to client by U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) against a bid protest filed at GAO where protester argued that the agency unreasonably evaluated the offerors’ proposed prices against an allegedly flawed independent government estimate. See Crawford RealStreet Joint Venture, B-415193.2; B-415193.3 (Apr. 2, 2018).
- Protested U.S. Health & Human Services award where the agency unreasonably evaluated the awardee’s proposal and did not have a reasonable basis for selecting awardee’s proposal over protester’s. See Protection Strategies, Inc., B-414684.2 (Nov. 20, 2017).
- Defended award of a contract to our client by the U.S. Department of the Interior against a bid protest filed at the GAO where the protester alleged the agency unreasonably evaluated its proposal. See Dexis Consulting Grp., B-415483 (Dec. 26, 2017).
- Obtained corrective action in numerous bid protests at the GAO after filing bid protests on behalf of clients.
- Defended government contractor’s verified status and registration in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database after U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) proposed it for cancellation.
- Represented small business government contractor in defending suspension and debarment proceedings following discovery of alleged criminal activity by employee.
- Represented small business government contractor in defending suspension and debarment proceedings based on allegations that the client received 8(a) set-aside contracts for which it was not eligible.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Obtained dismissal and then summary judgment on behalf of corporate client on all but one claim made in $17 Million lawsuit filed by seller in failed M&A transaction where seller claimed client did not comply with purchase agreement requirements, resulting in a small settlement.
- Represented government contractor in lawsuit against seller in M&A transaction where it was discovered post-acquisition that the prior owners engaged in healthcare fraud.
- Represented government contractor in lawsuit against buyer in failed M&A transaction where buyer claimed seller made misrepresentations and omissions during due diligence process.
- Represented government contractor in lawsuit by seller in M&A transaction where seller claimed buyer did not pay earn-out obligations after acquisition.
- Defended buyer in M&A-related litigation filed by seller, including filing counterclaim that resulted in settlement, where seller paid buyer for improperly retaining funds as earn-out.
Construction
- Represented construction contractor in complex appeal from termination for default before the COFC, leading to monetary settlement and conversion of termination.
- Obtained summary judgment, including award of attorneys’ fees, on behalf of small business construction client after residential property owner refused to pay invoices based on alleged incomplete work and client’s licensure status.
- Represented prime contractor in federal court litigation on subcontractor’s claims that prime contractor failed to pay subcontractor in accordance with payment schedule and prime contractor’s counterclaim that subcontractor’s work did not meet specifications, resulting in significant remediation costs.
- Represented prime contractor on bond claim made by subcontractor, resulting in denial of bond claim and no adverse impact from surety.
Credentials
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M., 2010
- University of Baltimore School of Law, J.D., 2008, cum laude, Production Editor, University of Baltimore Law Review
- University of Virginia, B.S.Ed., 2003
Admissions
- Maryland
- District of Columbia
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
- U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Activities/Honors
Activities
- Pro Bono Attorney, Montgomery County Bar Foundation
- Member, Prince George’s County Chamber of Commerce
- Member, Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Member, Trial Law Institute
- Member, Diversity Law Institute
- Barrister, Order of Veritas
- Advocate, Order of Certus
Honors
- Super Lawyers®, Washington DC, Employment Litigation; Defense, 2015-Present
- Maryland Super Lawyers®, Employment Litigation, 2015-2017