Matthew O’Donnell

Matthew O’Donnell is a Phoenix personal injury lawyer and associate at Knapp & Roberts. As a licensed attorney in Arizona, Matthew litigates catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, including medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, insurance bad faith, and automobile / truck crashes.

An Arizona native, Matthew was born in Scottsdale and plans to stay in the desert. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Design and English from Arizona State University (2011) and a juris doctor from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law (2021). He also holds an associate of applied science in Programming and Systems Analysis from Scottsdale Community College.

During law school, Matthew was a judicial extern / clerk to the Honorable William J. O’Neil, then-Presiding Disciplinary Judge for the Arizona Supreme Court. He also clerked for a real estate / water law firm, focusing on mezzanine finance for commercial real estate development and contracts / leases. He interned with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Administrative Counsel, focusing on litigation against quasi-public entities and regulatory compliance. Matthew also had the opportunity to work as a Rule 39(c) Certified Limited Practice Student, representing clients in litigation and helping them secure favorable outcomes at ASU’s Civil Litigation Clinic. He also volunteered with the Volunteer Lawyers Program at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, entering numerous courtroom appearances assisting debtors as a “friend of the court.” Matthew was an oralist in the NYC Bar Appellate Advocacy Moot Court and internal moot court competitions, an editor of the Corporate and Business Law Journal, a Pedrick scholar, and a CALI award recipient.

Prior to attending law school, Matthew worked in various technical fields. His favorite career memories include:

• As a mechanical estimator / analyst in the construction / civil engineering field, Matthew created software to calculate Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) and model cost-savings across heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) implementations for construction and retrofit. Samsung, a business partner of Matthew’s firm, admired his software so much that it acquired the intellectual property and integrated the code into its enterprise software, used worldwide.
• As a database analyst, Matthew was part of a team that designed, implemented, and managed environment, health, and safety (EHS) software for use in laboratory and medical research that has received awards in the supply chain and EHS industries.
• As an analyst, Matthew was part of a team of writers composed of laboratory researchers, biosecurity professionals, and an FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate special agent who authored “The 2017 Arizona Biosafety Workshop: An Open Dialogue About Biosecurity.” Applied Biosafety Vol. 23, Iss. 4, June 2018.
• As a systems administrator, Matthew was part of a team composed of analysts and an FBI cybersecurity expert who designed and implemented audit trails to monitor sensitive databases.
• As a software developer, Matthew was part of a team that integrated Arizona State University’s purchasing software with Salesforce enterprise software.
• As an analyst, Matthew consulted with Arizona State University purchasing and risk management stakeholders regarding database / data warehousing to ensure compliance with data privacy regulations like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Matthew leverages his technical background and logical disposition in his legal practice. He is interested in digital evidence, electronically-stored information (ESI), software discovery disputes, and presentation of ESI at trial. In modern litigation, evidence crucial to prove a case is found in electronic medical records, databases, and cloud servers, and Matthew’s deep domain experience in these areas is an advantage.

If you have been injured or lost a loved one, Matthew is available to provide you with legal advice and representation. Email Matthew at odonnell@krattorneys.com.