Pillsbury partner Matthew MacLean is recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for commercial disputes and litigation.

Matthew represents clients in complex commercial matters, with a focus on administrative procedure, technology, real estate, government contracting, insolvency and adversary actions, and intellectual property disputes. He has litigated dozens of cases as lead counsel at trial and on appeal, including multiple jury trials and a writ in a death penalty case, and he handles clients’ challenges to government agency actions. Matthew has represented government contractors, technology and media companies, companies with significant real estate portfolios, and companies in rulemaking and administrative proceedings in regulated industries.

Representative Experience

  • Defended the former owners of the American International Building in New York in an international arbitration and a series of lawsuits brought by developers.
  • Sued and defended both buyers and sellers of bankrupt companies for fraud, forgery and breach of warranties.
  • Defended landlord in Delaware bankruptcy court against adversary action by bankrupt tenant.

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  • Represented global media research company in suit against global real estate outsourcing services provider.
  • Represented copyright holders in claims under compulsory licenses before Copyright Royalty Board.
  • Represented television station owner and service provider in suit against other station owners for wrongful termination of shared services agreement.
  • Defended government contractor in defamation action by former government official over alleged steering of government contracts.
  • Represented Rhea Lana Inc., a company that conducts consignment sale events, in appealing a dismissal of an Administrative Procedure Act challenge to a U.S. Department of Labor determination.
  • Defended a government contractor in a subcontractor’s lawsuit alleging breach of work-level requirements in a contract for global technology services support for U.S. government offices.
  • Represented Guantanamo detainees in Boumediene v. Bush, in which the Supreme Court held that detainees in Guantanamo have a constitutional right to habeas corpus.
  • Represented American Bar Association in an amicus brief in Munaf v. Geren, in which the Supreme Court ruled U.S. military-held American citizens in Iraq have right to challenge detention in federal court.
  • Represented International Committee of the Red Cross in military commission against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the accused 9/11 co-conspirators.
  • Represented the cities of New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco in a suit against the Department of Defense and the military branches, seeking to ensure that those government agencies comply with their legal obligation to report conviction and dishonorable discharge information to the national criminal background check system for gun sales.

Professional Highlights

  • Recognized in the 2016 edition of The Legal 500 U.S. for General Commercial Disputes and for Commercial Litigation and previously recognized among Washington’s Top Lawyers, Military Affairs Law, by Washingtonian.
  • Served as an officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he was a trial counsel (prosecutor) for the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea, officer-in-charge of a Trial Defense Service branch office, and a legal adviser for the Crisis Action Team of the U.S. Army Operations Center.
  • Led Pillsbury team’s successful pro bono effort for the American Council of the Blind to negotiate an accessibility initiative agreement for accommodation of blind taxi passengers in Washington, DC.

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Associations

  • Virginia Bar Association
  • Oklahoma Bar Association

Honors & Awards

  • Capital Pro Bono High Honor Roll (multiple years)

  • Meritorious Service Medal, U.S. Army

Education

  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 1999

    B.A., The Johns Hopkins University, 1996

Admissions

  • District of Columbia

    Virginia

    Maryland

    Oklahoma

    Tennessee

Courts

  • U.S. Supreme Court

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

    U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

    U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

    U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia