Matt Lembke, one of four Bradley lawyers to have clerked for the Supreme Court of the United States, has the broad range of skills necessary to be effective in representing clients at both the trial and appellate levels. He has applied those skills for more than 30 years in dozens of high-stakes cases.

Matt has extensive experience in handling appeals pending in both state and federal courts, including arguing cases in the Alabama Supreme Court, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, and the D.C., Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits. Matt’s accomplishments as an appellate lawyer have been recognized by his election as a Fellow in the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (AAAL), and he served as president of the AAAL in 2019.

At the trial level, Matt has tried cases to verdict in both state and federal courts. In recent years, he has been heavily involved in cases involving toxic torts, environmental contamination, the False Claims Act, and complex commercial and securities litigation.

Matt works closely with each client to formulate a creative, cost-effective strategy to achieve his client’s objectives.

Matt has extensive experience in handling high-profile, challenging cases for clients in Alabama and across the region. His experience includes:

• Served as lead trial counsel for a national hospice company in a 10-week False Claims Act trial that ended with judgment as a matter of law being entered in the client’s favor.
• Representation of a major healthcare provider in the appellate reversal of a $20 million wrongful death judgment in a medical malpractice case handled at trial by another firm.
• Representation of a national chemicals company in connection with toxic tort litigation brought by former plant workers.
• Defense of Monsanto Company in hundreds of personal injury and property damage cases arising from alleged environmental contamination.
• Represented the State of Alabama for over a decade in litigation with Georgia and Florida concerning interstate water rights.

Matt also has been called upon by judges to lead committees important to the legal system. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit appointed Matt to chair its Lawyers Advisory Committee, which provides comments on all proposed changes to the Circuit’s rules. And the Alabama Supreme Court appointed Matt to chair Alabama’s Standing Committee on Rules of Conduct and Canons of Judicial Ethics.

Outside his law practice, Matt closely follows developing legal issues, and the press often seeks his comments on them. Recently, he has been interviewed on Fox News and MSBNC, as well as by the New York Times, Law360, and Bloomberg Law.

Bar Admissions

• Alabama, 1991

• Supreme Court of the United States
• United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
• United States District Court, Middle District of Alabama
• United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama
• United States District Court, Southern District of Alabama

Education

• University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1991, Law School Alumni Association Award, 1991; Raven Society, 1991; Thomas Marshall Miller Prize, 1991; Articles Development Editor, Virginia Law Review
• Rhodes College, B.A., 1988, summa cum laude; Peyton Nalle Rhodes Phi Beta Kappa Prize, 1988; Rhodes Student Hall of Fame, 1988; Omicron Delta Kappa; Phi Beta Kappa

Matt’s experience as an appellate advocate involves briefing and oral argument in dozens of appeals as well as serving on trial teams in major litigation to ensure that appellate issues are properly preserved. Matt has often been called on to serve as appellate counsel in matters where other lawyers handled the trial, including cases with large punitive damages verdicts.

Matt also has extensive experience in handling all aspects of complex trial-level litigation.