October 2019
by Jay Forester

We’re pleased to name Matthew Kolodoski this month’s “One to Watch.” Matthew is an associate with Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP, where his practice focuses on complex insurance coverage disputes, bad faith and extra-contractual liabilities litigation, and other insurance-related matters. Matthew received his law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of Houston. After law school, he clerked for two years with the Honorable Irma C. Ramirez on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

Since graduating from law school, Matthew has been an active member of our legal community. Though he is still a young lawyer, Matthew is already a member of the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas, an advisory member of the Texas Pattern Jury Charge Oversight Committee, a former-Chair of the Civil Liberties & Civil Rights Section of the State Bar of Texas, and a Barrister in the William “Mac” Taylor American Inn of Court. He is also a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and active in the Dallas Bar Association, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, and DAYL Foundation.

Additionally, Matthew is a frequent speaker and author on litigation and constitutional law topics, including having served for four years as Course Director for the State Bar of Texas’s Annual Bill of Rights: Litigating the Constitution Course. Recently, the University of Texas School of Law also published a two-part series of articles he authored, entitled The Future of Collective Employment Arbitration: Reconciling the FAA with the NLRA, FLSA, and Other Federal Rights and The Future of Collective Employment Arbitration Part II: Apocalyptic Warnings, Lochnerizing, and the Right to Contract, in the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights. Finally, Matthew was recently honored by the Texas Bar College with the Franklin Jones Best CLE Article Award for an article he authored, entitled Private Prisons: Constitutional Litigation Against Non-State Defendants.

Outside of law, Matthew is active in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Vivaldi Patron Circle. He also enjoys spending time with his dog, Arthur. In sum, in a few short years, Matthew has already made a name for himself as one of the up-and-coming leaders of the State Bar of Texas. We look forward to seeing what Matthew accomplishes next. This is why Matthew Kolodoski is this month’s “One to Watch.”