Our People
Attorneys
University of Michigan Law School
One Logan Square
18th & Cherry Streets, 27th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6933
Fax: 215.568.0300
Biography
Matthew Hamermesh has an aptitude for helping clients navigate through the legal process and arrive at solutions that achieve their goals. With extensive experience in bankruptcy, insolvency and debtor-creditor litigation, Matt has successfully represented debtors, creditors, official committees and other parties in interest in numerous business bankruptcy and commercial cases. His method of thorough evaluation results in creative solutions for clients – whether debtors, creditors, or otherwise – allowing them to get the most that they can out of a bankruptcy or non-bankruptcy proceeding while avoiding the decline in business value that can accompany any financial difficulties.
His devotion to the improvement of the practice of bankruptcy and insolvency law in and around Philadelphia is demonstrated by his active involvement in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference, where he has served extensively on the Conference’s Education Committee and chaired its Young Lawyers Division for three years.
Matt also has an extensive appellate practice, including considerable experience in appeals of civil and bankruptcy cases. On several occasions, he and his colleagues have convinced the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reinstate trial court decisions that the Superior Court or Commonwealth Court reversed. He is an active member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and serves on its Appellate Courts Committee.
His commitment to his client’s causes is also distinguished by his pro bono representations, which, among others, include a successful effort to demonstrate a client was not subject to the death penalty because of mental retardation. In 2008, he was the honored recipient of the Juvenile Law Center’s First Annual Pro Bono Award.
Matt has earned repeated recognition by Pennsylvania and New Jersey Super Lawyers magazines as a Rising Star. He is a 1998 magna cum laude graduate of The University of Michigan Law School, where he served as Articles Editor for the Michigan Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received a B.S. in mathematics from Yale University. Prior to joining Hangley Aronchick, Matt was a law clerk for Chief Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Education
The University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1998, JD, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1994, BS
Clerkship
The Honorable Edward R. Becker, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1998 – 1999
Honors and Awards
- Named a 2011 Lawyer on the Fast Track by The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly
- Named by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star as the result of a statewide survey of lawyers, 2011
- Michigan Law Review, Articles Editor
- Received the Juvenile Law Center’s First Annual Pro Bono Award, 2008
- Repeatedly named a Pennsylvania and New Jersey Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazines as the result of a statewide survey of lawyers
Representative Cases
Representative Cases - Bankruptcy
- Lead counsel for a substantial vendor in one of the largest recent bankruptcy reorganization cases where the client was confronted with the bankruptcy of a substantial customer. Helped the client to obtain a highly beneficial assumption of most of their contracts with the debtors, along with favorable resolution of other outstanding claims.
- Lead counsel for a Fortune 500 Company as a party in interest in a bankruptcy case of a general partner and a fellow limited partner. Helped the client maneuver through the bankruptcy process, ensuring that the underlying business was preserved and that the client could buy the other partners out of the business without a substantial decline in business value.
- Lead counsel for a high-tech start-up company in a quick and successful Chapter 11 reorganization. Negotiated restructuring of privately held debt and equity that facilitated post-reorganization sale of company at substantial profit.
Representative Cases – Appellate
- Successfully defended on appeal the decision of a trial court finding that a local ordinance was preempted by state statute. (Holt's Cigar Co., Inc. v. City of Philadelphia, 10 A.3d 902, Pa. January 19, 2011)
- Successfully sought discretionary review and obtained reversal in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of Superior Court decision, resulting in reinstatement of much of the relief that client, a landlord, had obtained at trial. (Trizechahn Gateway LLC v. Titus, 601 Pa. 637, 976 A.2d 474 2009)
- Managed complex appellate litigation involving oversight of troubled school district. Appellate litigation involved multiple appeals, request for Supreme Court Kings’ Bench review, and extensive disputes over stays pending appeal. (E.g., Commonwealth, Dept. of Educ. v. Empowerment Bd. of Control of Chester-Upland School Dist., 595 Pa. 426, 938 A.2d 1000 (2007))
- Successfully defended eight-figure lender liability jury verdict and judgment on appeal to Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts against wide-ranging challenges by defendant bank.
Representative Cases – Business Litigation
- Lead counsel for a group of former officers of a large, bankrupt company in defense of securities class action, civil RICO and related claims.
- Lead counsel for a client in New Zealand in recovering fraudulent funds that defendant had transferred to the United States. Successfully traced the money to various American banks and obtained court orders freezing the accounts and ultimately recovering most of the funds.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Philadelphia Bar Association, Appellate Courts Committee
- Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference, 2001 – Present
- American Bar Association, Litigation and Business Law Sections
- American Bankruptcy Institute, 2001 – Present
Pro Bono
- Various cases representing indigent clients, including death penalty defense, prisoners’ civil rights, bankruptcy, and uninsured personal injury defense
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania