Senior Counsel

McCann, Matthew C.

Profile & Practice Areas

Matthew McCann brings two decades of tested litigation, appellate, and regulatory defense expertise to businesses, insurers, and executives facing complex, high-stakes legal challenges. Practicing since 2006, he serves as a strategic counselor and courtroom advocate across complex commercial litigation, environmental liability, product liability, insurance coverage, and the evolving cannabis sector. Matthew regularly represents corporate entities in Michigan state and federal courts, mitigating operational risk, protecting commercial interests, and resolving disputes efficiently.

For commercial clients and insurance carriers, Matthew offers end-to-end liability defense and proactive risk management. His business litigation practice encompasses breach of contract claims, shareholder and partnership disputes, SEC/FINRA enforcement defense, private securities claims, civil rights, bankruptcy, and high-level restrictive covenant and executive exit negotiations. In environmental, real estate, and toxic tort matters, he delivers aggressive defense and sophisticated regulatory counsel—coordinating directly with state and federal environmental authorities on emergency spill responses, evaluating complex forensic data, negotiating clean-up and remediation terms, and drafting deeds and easements for commercial transactions. In the cannabis space, he guides growers, distributors, and retailers through full regulatory compliance, licensing, and state administrative or judicial appeals.

Matthew gives clients a decisive edge at both the trial court and appellate levels. He began his career as a judicial law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Staff Attorney’s Office and has since served as Senior Appellate Counsel, building an extensive track record of drafting winning briefs, handling complex motions for summary disposition, and arguing motions and appeals across state, federal, and administrative tribunals.

Matthew holds a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School—where he served as Primary Notes & Comments Editor for the Journal of Law and Policy and later as an adjunct professor of legal writing—and a B.S. in Policy Analysis & Management from Cornell University. Admitted to practice in Michigan and New York, he is co-editor of the Michigan Defense Quarterly and has served in leadership roles across several prominent bar associations, including the Oakland County, MI, Nassau County, NY and New York City Bar Associations.

Practice Areas

Honors & Awards

  • ​Martindale-Hubbell, Rated AV Preeminent
  • Super Lawyers, Environmental Litigation, 2020-2021, 2023-2026
  • Super Lawyers: Rising Stars, New York Metro Area, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Business Litigation, 2015-2019
  • DBusiness Top Lawyers, Environmental Law, 2026
  • American Society of Legal Advocates, Top 40 Under 40, Criminal Defense Attorney, 2017

Professional Associations

  • ​State Bar of Michigan, 2021
  • New York City Bar Association, Criminal Law Committee, 2013-2017
  • Nassau County Bar Association, Federal Courts Committee, Co-Chair, 2018-2021
  • Oakland County Bar Association, Providing Access to Legal Services Committee, 2023-2024
  • Michigan Defense Trial Counsel​, MDTC Quarterly, Co-Editor, 2026
  • Hofstra University, Lecturer, 2019-2020
  • Brooklyn Law School, Adjunct Professor, 2017

Community Involvement

  • Specialty Aquatic Charity, Board of Directors, 2026
  • MI AECRES, Board of Directors, 2023-2025
  • Water Authority of Western Nassau County, Member, 2020-2021