Attorneys

Matthew A. S. Esworthy

Partner mase@shapirosher.com

36 South Charles Street
Suite 2000
Baltimore, MD 21201

410.385.4222 ph
410.539.7611 fax

Matthew A.S. Esworthy is a partner in the Firm’s litigation department. He concentrates on general civil and criminal litigation, including white collar criminal defense, complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, partnership disputes, employment law, and appeals. In recognition of his accomplishments, Martindale-Hubbell awarded Mr. Esworthy its AV Peer-Review Rating, the highest rating available.

Mr. Esworthy has achieved favorable results in a number of high profile cases. In recent years, he has successfully defended a Baltimore law firm in a multi-million dollar defamation/invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by a public official; successfully represented minority shareholders of a Fortune 500 company in a complex shareholder dispute; and achieved favorable results in a civil conspiracy/intentional tort lawsuit involving internationally-renowned recording artists, producers and record labels.

Mr. Esworthy has defended individuals targeted for criminal prosecution by federal and state authorities involving a wide variety of criminal charges. These cases have resolved in favorable plea deals for the defendants or defense verdicts when the matter went to trial.

An active member of numerous bar associations, Mr. Esworthy also serves as co-chair of the Cyber Crime Committee of the American Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section. In addition, Mr. Esworthy serves on the board of Baltimore nonprofit Civic Works, Inc. and of the Clarence H. “Du” Burns Memorial Fund, Inc., to which he is also general counsel.

Before entering private practice, Mr. Esworthy served as Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Joseph F. Murphy, Jr., former Chief Judge of the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, who was elevated to the Court of Appeals of Maryland. 

Representative Cases

• Falls Road Community Association, Inc. v. Baltimore County, 203 Md.App. 425, 38 A.3d 493 (2012)
• Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Com'n v. Mardirossian, 184 Md.App. 207, 964 A.2d 713 (2009)
• Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. East Oliver Street Ltd. Partnership, 408 Md. 35, 968 A.2d 139, 140 (2009)
• Hanifee v. Board of Educ. of Kent County, 2010 WL 723772 (D.Md. 2010)

News & Publications

April 13, 2012: Served as a panelist on the topic of "Cost Effective Approaches to Dealing with ESI," at the ABA Criminal Justice Section's 2012 Spring Conference in Los Angeles, which focused on E-Discovery in Government Investigations and Criminal Litigation.

April 3, 2012: Served as a featured presenter at the Government Security Conference & Expo ("GovSec") in Washington, DC, on the topic: "Rule of Law in Cyber Conflict & Cybercrime." 

March 2012: "The ESI Tsunami: A Comprehensive Discussion about Electronically Stored Information in Government Investigations and Criminal Cases." Co-authors an article on the challenges of dealing with ESI in criminal matters. Published in the Spring 2012 edition of Criminal Justice, a publication of the American Bar Association.

February 15, 2012: Served as speaker at a Bloomberg BNA presentation titled, "The Digital Age Meets the Constitution: Implications of United States v. Jones."

February 6, 2012: Named president-elect of the board of directors of The Dickinson School of Law Alumni Society for Pennsylvania State University.

February 3, 2012: Served as moderator of the program titled, " A Comprehensive View of Where Cyber Crime is Heading in 2012," sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association at its 2012 meeting in New Orleans, LA.   

January 5, 2012: "Super Lawyers" names Mr. Esworthy a "rising star" and selects him for inclusion in its 2012 Maryland ratings of top Maryland lawyers.

August 2, 2011: Appointed Co-Chair of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Cyber Crime Committee.

June 3, 2011: Speaking at the Fordham University School of Law, Mr. Esworthy moderated a panel on "The ESI Tsunami: A Comprehensive Discussion about Electronically Stored Information in Criminal Cases." The event was part of the "Prescription for Criminal Justice Forensics" conference organized by the ABA Criminal Justice Section.

"Notaries in the Digital Era." By Matthew A.S. Esworthy, for LawDragon.com, August 2010.

August 11, 2010: "Special Rights for Police." A columnist for The Frederick News-Post quotes Mr. Esworthy in an article concerning Maryland's wiretap law.

October 2, 2009: ACORN lawsuit may be legal nightmare for filmmakers, distributors. The Washington Examiner quotes Matthew Esworthy in an article regarding the ongoing scandal.

"Electronically stored information can stretch the boundaries of the contract's 'four corners.'" The Daily Record, November 17, 2008.

"Aggressive discovery tactics with e-mail could mark you a 'busy body.'" The Baltimore Business Journal, September 17, 2007.