Attorney Matthew McCann Joins Moss & Colella As Senior Appellate Counsel, Will Expand Firm’s Practice Scope To Include Advocating for Public Education of Students With Special Needs

MediaContact: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications, 248.260.8466; barbara@eafocus.com

Southfield, Mich. --- February 22, 2023 --- Personal injury and civil rights law firm Moss & Colella is pleased to announce that attorney Matthew McCann has joined the firm as Senior Appellate Counsel.

The announcement was made by firm co-founders David Moss, Senior Partner, and Vince Colella, Managing Partner.

McCann’s responsibilities at Moss & Colella will include personal injury and civil rights litigation and all aspects of appellate cases. Additionally, he will expand the firm’s practice scope to include the legal representation of students with special needs and their families seeking full access to educational opportunities, services and resources.

“Matt McCann brings an incredible range of legal experience to Moss & Colella, and we are eager to use his legal insights, appellate experience, strong writing skills and passionate advocacy for the benefit of our clients,” Colella said.  

“Moss & Colella’s mission is to serve the needs of those who have been injured or wronged by others.  We stand firmly behind Matt McCann and will dedicate our legal and financial resources to advance his commitment to the families of children with autism and other special needs,” Moss added.

Immediately prior to joining Moss & Colella, and following his 2021 relocation to Michigan, McCann was an associate principal at a greater Detroit commercial litigation firm. He spent the first 15 years of his legal career in the New York City metropolitan area.

McCann has meaningful experience in both insurance defense and plaintiff-side product liability. He represented insureds in navigating the product recall process and advised insurers on the liability exposure stemming from policies covering entities whose products had caused bodily injury to customers throughout the country. His direct defense work included product liability actions in which plaintiffs alleged significant personal injury stemming from product design and product manufacturing defects.

McCann has a legal niche in representing the families of students with autism and other special needs to help navigate the educational system and advocate for a complete education and related services for their child. While in New York, he worked on a team that handled all stages of federal litigation, from pleadings to negotiating settlements on behalf of students and parents.  He is a member of the Counsel of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), whose mission is to protect and enforce the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families and secure high quality educational services and promote excellence in advocacy. He is also a board member of MIA ECRES, which provides comprehensive non-legal advocacy and legal representation to Michigan children for their educational needs.  

His background also includes leading the research, investigations and litigation of complex commercial, administrative, civil rights and white-collar criminal proceedings, where he defended individuals and entities in SEC and FINRA enforcement and disciplinary actions and handled private securities litigation disputes matters on behalf of both defrauded investors and defendants alleged to have violated federal securities laws. As an outgrowth of this experience in the securities industry, McCann also represented employees in the financial sector in negotiating severance agreements, litigating the contours and extent of non-compete agreements and securing equitable buyouts of stock options.

Before entering the private sector, McCann served as a law clerk to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Staff Attorney’s Office for two years following graduation from law school. In that role, he reviewed appellate briefs as well as the factual record on appeal and wrote bench memorandums advising three-judge panels of the Court on the controlling law and operative facts in cases before them. He has had the opportunity to work on state, federal and administrative appeals during each of his private sector roles following his time at the Second Circuit and brings with him to Moss & Colella that strong appellate experience.

While a student at Brooklyn Law School, McCann held several internships at prominent government and public interest institutions in New York City. He worked as a Student District Attorney at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office Gang Unit as part of Brooklyn Law School’s Prosecutor Clinic during his entire third year of law school. He also interned with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Criminal Division, the Chambers of the late Judge Joseph McLaughlinon the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Division.

McCann holds a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Policy Analysis & Management from Cornell University. He is a prolific legal author and also served as an adjunct professor of legal writing at Brooklyn Law School. While a practicing attorney in New York, he was named a Super Lawyer Rising Star in White Collar Criminal Defense and Employment Litigation and as a Super Lawyer in Business Litigation and Education Litigation. He is licensed to practice law in both Michigan and New York and is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. While in New York, he was active in a variety of professional legal associations including the New York City Bar Association.