Attorney Roger D. Matthews, partner, Denner Pellegrino, LLP, Counselors At Law, is a senior practitioner who brings 30 years of sophisticated civil litigation experience to the firm. His practice concentrates on business and real estate litigation and employment law as well as complex litigation including product liability, wrongful death, insurance coverage, and environmental matters. He has extensive experience defending media rights in libel and First Amendment litigation, as well as privacy and public records disclosure issues. He also serves as an arbitrator and mediator in alternate dispute resolution.

Prior to joining the Firm, Roger served as Of Counsel to a prestigious Boston law firm and was previously a partner at another prestigious law firm. His practice then was focused on commercial litigation, representing banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in addition to the defense, prosecution, and appeal of insurance coverage cases. Previously, Roger was an associate and partner at a regional law firm, where he handled all aspects of civil litigation, including trials and appeals. He represented contractors, sureties and design professionals in construction cases as well as a number of municipalities on land use, licensing, and employment matters.

Before entering private practice, Roger served as chief counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and legal counsel to the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Transportation and Construction. In these posts, he negotiated the $18.5 million acquisition of commuter rail lines in Massachusetts, and drafted the state environmental regulations for the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the Department of Public Works.

Roger is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, the United States District Court for Massachusetts, the United States Tax Court, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the United States Claims Court and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association (Business and Litigation Sections) and the Frank J. Murray Inn of Court.

Mr. Matthews has served as a Hearing Committee member for the Board of Bar Overseers, and is a Commercial Panel Member for the American Arbitration Association.

Roger also is a member of the Newton Conservation Commission, a director of the Yale Club of Boston, and has served as Trial Advisor to the Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Program, as well as being a participant in the Construction Master/Mediator Program at Suffolk Superior Court and the Middlesex Multi-Door Courthouse. He served as a member and later chair of the Newton Economic Development Commission.