Matthew R. O'Connor
Matt O'Connor is an associate in Pierce Atwood’s Litigation Practice Group, focusing on construction, commercial, and ERISA litigation. In his construction work, Matt represents contractors and other entities in all manners of disputes, including mechanics' liens, construction defects, contract drafting, and navigating clients' interactions with state agencies.
Matt has experience in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts and the American Arbitration Association in all aspects of litigation, including investigation, discovery, trying and arbitrating cases, and resolving matters by way of alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation. Matt regularly represents clients in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and in a variety of federal courts in the northeast through his ERISA work.
Before joining Pierce Atwood, Matt was an associate in the Boston and Providence offices of Morrison Mahoney LLP and served as a chambers law clerk to Associate Justice Francis X. Flaherty of the Rhode Island Supreme Court for the 2014-2015 term.
While in law school, Matt was a member of the Suffolk Prosecutors Clinic and served as a Rule 3:03 Prosecutor with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office in West Roxbury District Court. While serving in this role, he first-chaired a successful jury trial.
In addition, Matt was a member of the Moot Court Honor Board and a comment editor for the Suffolk Journal of Trial & Appellate Advocacy.
- Rhode Island Bar Association Leadership Academy, Class of 2024-2025
- Named a "Rising Star" for Business Litigation in Rhode Island by Super Lawyers (2021-present)
- Pro Bono Honor Roll, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (2014)
- Rhode Island Bar Association
- House of Delegates, Member (District 5 - Providence)
- Superior Court Bench/Bar Committee
- New Lawyers Committee
- Forum on Construction Law, American Bar Association (ABA)
- Session Coordinator (2024 Midwinter Meeting)
- Member, Divisions 1 and 2
- ABA Litigation Section, Member
- Defense Research Institute (DRI), Member
- Co-author, "Building Schools: The Role of Future Builders in the Future of Massachusetts Public Education," Future Builders, 4th Ed. (May 2023).
- Co-author, "The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Will Encourage Construction Jobs," Future Builders, 3d Ed. (Nov. 2022).
- "Mode of Operation: Not Just for Supermarkets Anymore," The Standard (February 2016).
- Comment, What Constitutes an Objectively Unreasonable Reaction? -- Tolan v. Cotton, 713 F.3d 299 (5th Cir. 2013), 19 Suffolk J. Trial & App. Advoc. 235 (2014).
- Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts, Volunteer Editor, Future Builders Newsletter
- JDRF New England Chapter, V1P Fundraiser
Practice Areas
- Represented an international financial services company in successfully quashing a subpoena that would have subjected the company to a “fishing expedition” deposition prior to the client being sued.
- Represented a regional telecommunications company in a dispute with a municipality regarding the municipality's hiring of the client's employee and resulting alleged breach of an anti-poaching and non-solicitation agreement.
Latest Updates in Litigation
- Represented construction client involved in a Rhode Island state agency regulatory action and negotiated resolution favorable to client's interests.
- Represented a mechanics' lien claimant to resolve construction dispute and obtain payment for unpaid and disputed work.