ATTORNEYS
JOSEPH LEE MATALON
A long time ago, Joseph Lee Matalon graduated with highest honors, and in the top 1%, of his undergraduate class at Boston University’s School of Management, where he won an award as the school’s top student in Real Estate Finance. Returning home to New York, where he was born and raised, Joe attended New York University School of Law, one of the nation’s most prestigious law schools. At NYU, Joe was a member of the Law Review, graduated in 1989 with high honors in the top 10% of his class, and was awarded a graduation prize “in recognition of outstanding work” in the federal criminal defense clinic.
Following law school, Mr. Matalon practiced labor litigation at a prominent New York City law firm, and then left to serve as law clerk to the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (the State’s highest court), Judith S. Kaye. At the Court of Appeals, Joe worked with the Chief Judge on many ground-breaking opinions in important, precedent-setting cases.
Mr. Matalon started his own litigation practice in 1996, and has earned the respect of judges and colleagues alike, achieving the highest-possible peer review rating, AV (signifying “very high to preeminent” legal ability and “very high” ethical standards). Joe was also designated a Superlawyer in Business Litigation and Real Estate for the past eight years running. In 2020, he was recognized as one of “America’s Top 100 Bet-The-Company Litigators” for New York City.
Joe is an attorney with more than 30 years’ experience. He has developed particular expertise in disputes involving all aspects of commercial real estate and has handled major cases in the fashion, retail, hospitality, food, and publishing industries. Joe has won trials and appeals at every level of the New York State court system, including the highest court; New Jersey trial and appellate courts; the federal trial and appeals courts in New York; and in many out-of-state courts.
Mr. Matalon’s cases are often high profile, and have been featured in books, articles, and on the front page of the New York Post. Clients come to him for creative solutions to their most intractable problems.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Matalon is licensed on land, sea and air. He is an instrument-rated airplane pilot, a certified Open Water Scuba Diver, and has a motorcycle endorsed driver license.
DAVID R. TAWIL
David R. Tawil is a fierce litigator and compassionate lawyer. He spent three years honing his legal skills at Tulane Law School in New Orleans, where he was a member of the Texas Young Lawyers Association mock trial team, Associate Justice of the Tulane Moot Court Board, and Senior Notes and Comments Editor of the Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law. His case note - Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.: The Second Circuit Rejects Corporate Liability Under the Alien Tort Statute - was published in the Journal in 2011.
Following law school, David returned home to New Jersey to serve as a Multicounty Litigation and Civil Division law clerk to the Honorable Jessica R. Mayer (now of the Appellate Division), where he assisted on a mass tort bellwether trial involving the drug Zometa, among other responsibilities. He then practiced for almost a decade at a prominent plaintiff’s firm in New York City and Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, contributing to his clients’ success in high profile class action and complex litigation at both the trial and appellate levels.
David has been recognized by his peers, as reflected by his professional accolades. He was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2020 to 2023, and made Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch lists in "Product Liability Litigation" and "Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions" from 2021 to 2023. In addition, David was chosen to serve as a Lead Barrister of the John C. Lifland American Inn of Court for the 2022-23 term, where he learns (and occasionally teaches) about federal practice in the District of New Jersey.
David can be found in his spare time hiking with his two year old husky, Jay, playing flag football and pickup basketball, and riding his Trek or Peloton (depending on the weather).
David is thrilled to partner with his lifelong mentor, Joseph Lee Matalon, at Matalon Tawil.