J. MATTHEW MAGUIRE, JR. is a Partner in Balch & Bingham's Atlanta office and has been elected to a two year term on the firm's executive committee. Matt is a trial lawyer with a diverse practice that includes litigating against government entities, construction and business litigation. A substantial amount of Matt's practice is devoted to the representation of government contractors in bid protests and related litigation. He also decides bid protests as a Fulton County Bid Protest Hearing Officer.
Matt has held Martindale-Hubbell's highest ability and ethical rating for lawyers since 2001. Matt was selected as a 2005 and 2006 Georgia Super Lawyer "Rising Star" by Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine. Matt is a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy.
Representative Experience
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- Lead plaintiff's counsel in a trial which resulted in a $180,000 jury verdict against Fulton County for selectively enforcing its erosion ordinances against one developer.
- Won summary judgment in an action brought under the Georgia Open Records Act to compel the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to disclose the identities of individuals and entities who filed complaints with the office.
- Represented a federal contractor in a termination for default action which was converted to a termination for convenience.
- Successfully defended a consortium of bidders seeking a state contract against claims that they violated the Sherman Act and rules prohibiting collusion.
- Convinced the Georgia Department of Administrative Services to modify specifications that would have prohibited a firm client from submitting a responsive proposal.
- Prevailed in a protest of a state contract award because the evaluation team applied criteria that was not disclosed in the solicitation document.
- Convinced the State Road & Tollway Authority to void a contract award on several grounds, including the fact that solicitation incorporated a disadvantaged business enterprise component without the required demonstration of past discrimination.
- Successfully represented a large homebuilder in an action to strike down and enjoin enforcement of a municipal ordinance imposing a moratorium on the issuance of building permits and certificates of occupancy.
- Successfully represented a public official in a federal challenge to local legislation on the grounds that it violated the official's First Amendment rights, that it was an unconstitutional bill of attainder and that it violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- Successfully represented the interests of a winning vendor in an administrative protest of the award of a multi-million dollar state contract.
- Represented two vendors in a successful challenge to the award of a City of Atlanta telephone services contract.
- Won a jury trial on behalf of a businessman seeking to recover his ownership interest in a consulting business, which resulted in significant punitive damage and attorneys' fees awards.
- Won dismissal of an action brought by a city against some of its current and former city council members seeking personal liability for city debts based upon alleged conflicts of interest.
- Won dismissal of a State Ethics Commission proceeding against a sitting superior court judge.
- Convinced a Fulton Superior Court and the Georgia Supreme Court to require the City of Atlanta to produce certain financial information submitted by an applicant for a disadvantaged business enterprise certification under the Georgia Open Records Act.
- Won an appeal for a small company from the initial denial of its applicatiion for certification as a disadvantaged business enterprise.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- State Bar of Georgia
- Lawyers Club of Atlanta
- Atlanta Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Public Contract and State and Local Government Sections