Steven Matz

Founding Partner
Steven J. Matz is a founding partner of Matz Injury Law. The firm’s concentration is on personal injury litigation, with an emphasis on traumatic brain injury.

About Steven Matz

Mr. Matz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with high distinction and highest honors in 1974 from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor degree in 1977 from The George Washington University National Law Center. Mr. Matz lectures and publishes in a number of areas, including ethics, marketing, trial tactics, and head injury. Mr. Matz has served on the Michigan Association for Justice Executive Board and currently serves the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board as a Hearing Panel Chairman and Master. He is also a member of the State Bar Committee for Character and Fitness.

Mr. Matz and his firm have obtained judgments or settlements of $1,000,000 or more in 9 areas of personal injury litigation.

In 2009 Mr. Matz’s firm obtained the largest reported motor vehicle accident settlement in Michigan ($3,000,000 as reported by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, 1/11/10 )

Admitted:

1977, Michigan

Honors/Awards:

  • B.A.-Highest Honors, High Distinction 1974, University of Michigan.
  • Martindale/Hubbell – AV Preeminent rated (highest possible).
  • Elected to The National Trial Lawyers Association, recognizing the top 100 Trial Attorneys in the State of Michigan.
  • Honored as one of America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.
  • Named by Crain’s Detroit as one of Michigan’s Top Attorneys.
  • Recipient of America’s top 100 Attorney’s Lifetime Achievement Award, AVVO Clients choice rating 10/10.  Consistently named a “Superlawyer”.

Educational Background:

1974  University of Michigan Honors College, Bachelor of Arts with high distinction and highest honors 1977 George Washington University National Law Center, Juris Doctor

Special Licenses/Certifications:

  • Also licensed in Colorado, Texas and Washington D.C.
  • Appointed Special Master by Michigan Supreme Court. Lecturer, Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Lecturer, Southfield Bar Association. Lecturer, Michigan Head Injury Association. Chairman, Tri-County Attorney Disciplinary Hearing Panel #85

Bar/Professional Activity:

Appointed Special Master by the Michigan Supreme Court – Lecturer, Institute for Continuing Legal Education – Chairman, Tri-County Attorney Disciplinary Hearing Panel #85 – Member, State Bar of Michigan Committee for Character and Fitness

Pro Bono/Community Service:

Speaker/Lecturer at the following schools:

  • University of Michigan Honors College, Southfield High School
  • Bloomfield Hills Andover High School
  • North Farmington High School, Harrison High School
  • Mercy High School, Clarenceville High School
  • Livonia Churchill High School
  • West Bloomfield High School
  • Walled Lake Central High School
  • Brighton High School
  • Lapeer East High School
  • Oxford High School
  • Avondale High School
  • Lectured for Kiwanis, Rotary and Chambers of Commerce. Member, ACLU, Sierra Club.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

  • Public Speaking By Lawyers, Michigan Bar Journal, Vol 71, No 1, 1992.
  • Lawyer Advertising-An Advertising Lawyer’s Perspective, Michigan Trial Lawyers Quarterly, Vol 27, No 4, 1993.
  • Why and When You Should Cooperate With a Lawyer, Legal Aspects of Medical Practice, July 1980

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Mountain Climbing
North Col of Mt. Everest (Tibet side); Mt. Rainier, Washington;  Mt. Ararat Turkey; Mt. Whitney, California; El Pico de Orizaba, Mexico; La Malinche, Mexico; Mount Blanc du Tacul, Chamonix France;  Mt. Humphreys, Arizona; The Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland; Dent du Geant, France; Pollux, Castor, Breithorn, Switzerland; Kilimanjaro, Tanzania Africa;  Mt. Toubkal, Morocco, Machu Picchu, Peru;  Unnamed peaks in the Andes, Chile.

Also Sea-Kayaked
The width of Chile and the southern coast of Crete, Small Cyclades Islands, Greece; Amalfi Coast, Italy;  Coast of Belize; Santorini, Thirassia.  Circumnavigated the Isle of Capri;  Six Gold Medals in the last three Senior Olympic Games (swimming).  Defending Michigan State champion, Master’s Swimming.

View Next Attorney
Jared Matz
Partner

Recent Settlements

  • $4.15 Million Settlement in Washtenaw County

    $4,150,000 settlement on behalf of the family of a college student who was killed in a traffic crash while riding a motorcycle. The settlement came from three different insurance companies.

  • $3.45 Million Settlement In Genesee County

    $3.45 million settlement against a cement company whose truck crossed a center line causing three deaths and severely injuring a 4 year-old boy. The settlement was $450,000 in excess of available insurance.

  • $1.74 Million Settlement Awarded In Calhoun County Collision

    $1.74 million settlement against a 19 year-old driver and the fraternity where he was drinking immediately prior to a head on collision that killed a 52 year-old husband and father of 3 children.

  • $1.3 Million Settlement In Monroe County

    $1.3 million Federal District Court settlement on behalf of a mother and daughter in a car/truck collision. Mom suffered a pancreas injury but returned to full-time employment within six months; eight year old daughter suffered an aggravation of a pre-existing learning disability as well as a ruptured spleen.

  • $1 Million Settlement In Gravel

    $1 million settlement for a 52 year-old woman in a rural county who broke both ankles and suffered a retrobulbar hemorrhage of her right eye after being struck by a gravel truck.

  • $1,000,000 Settlement for Rear-end Accident

    Matz Injury Law obtained a $1,000,000 settlement for a woman in Northern Michigan who fractured both ankles as a result of being rear-ended by a gravel truck.

The maximum contingency fee permitted by law is actually 331/3%. Michigan court rules require that the attorney fee be computed on the net sum recovered after deducting all disbursements properly chargeable to the enforcement of the claim.

What does 22not33 mean, exactly?

We can charge 22% while virtually all other injury attorneys charge 331/3% because we are very, very, good at obtaining results for our clients.

We do not spend millions of dollars on television ads; instead, we offer a lower fee to all our clients. We do not have dozens of lower paid associates handling our work. All our clients are represented by Steven and Jared Matz. Steven Matz started the firm in 1977 and since then has dedicated his life to representing injury victims. Jared joined the firm in 2016 but grew up listening to stories, discussing theories, and generally learning at the dinner table about how to effectively and compassionately represent injury victims. Jared Matz was literally born to represent individuals involved in motor vehicle crashes.

All of our cases are handled on a contingency fee and all our cases are handled at 22%. Whether the case settles or goes through trial, the fee does not change. While our competitors make excuses as to why they charge so much, we are obtaining results for our clients at a lower fee.

At a typical television advertising law firm, your first call will be handled by a receptionist, who may refer you to an intake person, who will discuss your claim with an intake manager, who then discusses your claim with an associate, who may then report to a partner. You may never speak with the person whose name is at the top of the letterhead. At Matz Injury Law you will always speak with either Steven Matz or Jared Matz.