Steven Matz
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.
Recent Settlements
$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.
$450,000 settlement for an injury sustained while working at a manufacturing facility in Michigan. We were able to get around the workers compensation act exclusive remedy by proving our client was not an employee but instead, an independent contractor.
$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 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 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 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.