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Practice
Engaged in general litigation practice with an emphasis on
personal injury, product liability, municipal law and general civil litigation.
Professional Background
Admitted to practice in Alabama in 1987; in Pennsylvania in
1989; and in West Virginia in 1989. Also admitted to practice before
the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Alabama; the United States District Court for the Western District
of Pennsylvania.
Professional/Civic Activities
Member: Allegheny County,
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations;
Alabama State Bar; West Virginia State Bar.
Author: "Social Security Continuing
Disability Reviews and the Practice of Nonacquiescence,"
Cumberland Law Review, 16:1 (1985); summary published in
Callaghan's Law Review Digest, January-February 1987, Volume
36, Number 1.
Education
Samford University (B.S., 1984)
Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., 1987, Cum Laude).
Comment
Editor, Cumberland Law Review, 1986-87
Member, Cumberland Law Review, 1985-87.
Up Close And Personal
The son of a highly regarded local college basketball coach of
the same name, Bernie Matthews has learned lots of lessons of competition and teamwork
from his dad. Now in his second decade of legal practice, he has become one of
Westmoreland County's most sought-after attorneys, representing companies and
municipalities in the same aggressive style that earned him a basketball scholarship to an
Alabama university. Based in the firm's Greensburg office and one of Meyer Darragh's most
prolific lawyers, hardly a week goes by without some new client in the counties
surrounding Pittsburgh calling him for help.
This native of Pittsburgh grew up in a sports family, so no one is surprised to learn that
Bernie attended Samford University in Alabama to play basketball. But this fellow knew
where he was heading, majoring in pre-law and public administration, entering Samford's
Cumberland School of Law, and graduating cum laude and a member of its Law Review. During
those law school years, he clerked for the U.S. Attorney in Birmingham and then joined a
Mobile law firm. In 1989, Bernie came home, joining Meyer Darragh in its Pittsburgh office
for two years before relocating in the Greensburg office in one of the region's fastest
growing counties.
Press reporters know Bernie as the lawyer who helps local communities keep so-called
"adult" entertainment away from their homes and kids, but his visibility in this
arena is only a small part of his practice. As solicitor to one of the county's townships
and authorities, Bernie counsels companies, commercial developers, landowners, and
municipalities on zoning and land use issues, on contracts and business matters, and on
constitutional and civil rights claims. And he also has been engaged to defend many
negligence and product liability lawsuits.
Held in respect by his colleagues, Bernie manages the firm's
Greensburg office. A frequent speaker at seminar programs, Bernie is
a member of the Westmoreland County Inns of Court and both the municipal and civil
litigation sections of the local bar. He and his wife Brenda, a local grade school
teacher, live in Greensburg with their three children. |
