mwessler@publicjustice.net

Matt Wessler is the Kazan-Budd Attorney at Public Justice in Washington, D.C. He represents clients in a range of public interest areas, with a particular focus on issues surrounding the environment and access to justice, including ERISA, mandatory arbitration, preemption, and civil rights.

Matt has briefed and argued several important ERISA reimbursement cases, including the landmark case of US Airways v. McCutchen, in which the Third Circuit held that an ERISA plan could not obtain 100 percent reimbursement and that any recovery must be limited by principles of equity; and CGI Technologies v. Rose, which poses a set of similar issues in the Ninth Circuit. He is also counsel in a number of post-Concepcion cases involving the use of pre-dispute mandatory arbitration cases, including Homa v. American Express, pending in the Third Circuit.

Matt also has an active practice before the U.S. Supreme Court at both the petition and merits stages, including in Priester v. Ford (successful petition for certiorari in a vehicle preemption case) and Rent-A-Center v. Jackson (merits briefing in a case concerning pre-dispute mandatory arbitration), and has co-authored several amicus briefs, including in Williamson v. Mazda, AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, and AEP v. Connecticut. He routinely speaks across the country on issues affecting consumers, employees, the environment, and access to justice.

Before coming to Public Justice, Matt was an associate at the law firm Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C. and clerked on the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. He is a graduate of Cornell Law School and Williams College.

Matt is admitted to the bars of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the District of Columbia and numerous federal courts.