First Student Accepted into Program
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Matson Kelley has been a trial attorney and litigator for over 20 years and has spent more than 10,000 hours in the courtroom. He believes passionately in advocating for his clients, whether that means litigating the case or engaging in settlement negotiations. Matson has successfully resolved cases in every court in the State of Hawaii, including the Circuit Court, District Court, Honolulu Federal Court, and the Hawaii Supreme Court.
In 2024, he successfully argued before the Hawaii Supreme Court, which issued a landmark decision in HELG, et. al., v. Department of Health, et. al., that allowed a child in Hawaii to bring a loss of parental consortium claim. He has won numerous awards, including Lawyer of Distinction, the Palaka Award issued by the Rotary Club of Maui. Prior to entering private practice, Matson served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Honolulu. He currently serves as a per diem judge in Family and District Court.
Matson also has experience performing legal services for the Santa Clara Superior Court and providing pro bono legal services for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. He served as a Summer Associate at a firm in Honolulu and served as a federal court extern for the Honorable Federal Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi.
Matson graduated from the Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law with Magna Cum Laude honors and holds a Bachelors of Science from Santa Clara University. While attending Santa Clara’s Business school, Matson was the first student ever to be accepted into the Santa Clara University Law School’s Early Start Program before he transferred to the University of Hawaii.