Boston, MA. Nixon Peabody has appointed Matthew A. Richards as the firm’s new pro bono partner, leading this central initiative across all 16 offices.
A veteran litigator based in San Francisco, Matt is a partner in the firm’s Complex Commercial Disputes practice. His practice includes complex disputes of all types, with a particular focus on representing public entities, private owners, and general contractors in all phases of construction, from counseling and contract drafting through litigation of complex construction disputes.
“Matt is highly regarded by his colleagues for his pro bono commitment and client service, and he is a terrific choice to lead our pro bono program,” said Andrew Glincher, CEO and managing partner of Nixon Peabody. “Pro bono work gives our attorneys and professional colleagues the opportunity to serve our communities in innovative, creative, and impactful ways.”
Selected as Nixon Peabody’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2017 and serving as pro bono partner for the firm’s San Francisco office, Matt has spent his career advocating for pro bono clients, with particular emphases on immigration law and LGBTQ+ civil rights.
“I’m honored to be leading this important initiative, as pro bono has played an integral role at every stage of my career,” said Matt. “Nixon Peabody is well-positioned to continue building on our current pro bono strengths, while also expanding into new areas. For instance, we have had success working with clients in ‘pro bono deserts’—cities and states whose residents lack sufficient access to pro bono counsel—and are exploring ways to scale up these efforts.”
Matt’s current pro bono caseload includes representing:
- A transgender prisoner, wrongfully denied a gender dysphoria diagnosis, in federal district court litigation against the Idaho Department of Corrections;
- Human Rights Watch in its efforts to obtain government records regarding complaints by asylum seekers of abuse and mistreatment at the hands of Customs and Border Protection officers in federal district court FOIA litigation against the Department of Homeland Security; and
- An asylum seeker, whose Ninth Circuit appeal is one of the leading published cases in an ongoing circuit split with broad implications for the jurisdiction of immigration courts, on a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.
Matt succeeds Jeffrey Lesk, who had been serving as interim pro bono partner and is an architect of New Partners Community Solar, one of the firm’s best-known pro bono projects.