Matthew B. Sperry

Matthew B. Sperry is a passionate advocate who is dedicated to protecting the rights and advancing the interests of his clients. Matthew will give you an honest evaluation of your case and identify how your case can best be fought.

Matthew has successfully defended clients who were charged with Domestic Battery, DUI, Disorderly Conduct, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Alcohol by a Minor, and Possession of Marijuana. Matthew has successfully had charges reduced from felonies to misdemeanors and obtained supervision sentences for clients as well.

Matthew’s litigation experience spans both criminal prosecution and defense across Illinois and Florida. Matthew prosecuted cases for the Pinellas County State’s Attorneys Office, defended clients for the Pinellas County Public Defender’s Office, and defended clients for the Kane County Public Defender’s Office. While Matthew is a member of Florida Bar, at present he is not accepting cases from that jurisdiction.

Possession of Marijuana. Mr. Sperry represented a client who was pulled over on two separate occasions by the same police officer for having one brake light out of three out. On each occasion, Mr. Sperry’s client was alleged to have possessed marijuana in the automobile. In a consolidated motion to suppress between the two cases, Mr. Sperry successfully argued that the police officer lacked probable cause to pull over his client due to the taillight being out, as the controlling law stated that an automobile shall have two functional brake lights. The Court agreed and suppressed the marijuana found in the car, resulting in DISMISSALS OF BOTH CHARGES as well as the underlying traffic tickets for having a brake light out.

Matthew also has demonstrated excellence in civil litigation. His successes include but are not limited to obtaining a finding of no liability for his client in an administrative vehicle seizure hearing, a judgment in favor of his client in a breach of contract case, obtaining favorable arbitration awards, and obtaining a jury verdict for his client in a personal injury case. Matthew has extensive experience in child abuse/neglect courts, where he has litigated cases initiated by the State via the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and has experience advising clients under active investigation by DCFS.

In circumstances where going to contested trial or hearing may work against a client’s interest, Matthew has also demonstrated strong negotiation skills in a variety of legal settings. Matthew is adept at listening to both his client and the opposing party to discern ways to reach an agreement with the maximum possible benefit for his client. A few examples of Matthew’s negotiation experience include:

Obtaining a reduction from a felony to a misdemeanor
Obtaining supervision or other reduced criminal sentence
Obtaining favorable personal injury settlements quickly without delay and without the client needing to go to trial
Retaining custody of children in the context of a child abuse/neglect proceeding
Parental visitation in the context of a child abuse/neglect proceeding
Acquiring access to the house and personal belongings as well as child visitation in Order of Protection proceedings
Negotiating forfeiture cases and the return of property seized by the State, including but not limited to negotiating the return of property seized during the commission of a felony
Negotiating rescissions of Statutory Summary Suspensions in the context of DUI cases

Matthew’s clients can expect that Matthew will thoroughly and fully inform them of what legal options are available, and that Matthew will actively pursue the best possible outcome for each individual case.

Professional History:

Assistant Kane County Public Defender
Acting Assistant Pinellas County Public Defender
Pinellas County Public Defender’s Office - Clinical Legal Intern
Pinellas County State Attorney’s Office - Clinical Legal Intern

Bar & Court Admissions:

State of Illinois Bar, 2006
State of Florida Bar, 2007

Education:

J.D., Stetson University College of Law
- Cum laude
- Law Review
B.A. in Political Science, Illinois Wesleyan University
- Minor in Business Administration

Articles & Publications:

Know Your Rights: Protecting Yourself & Your Driver’s License From Violations of Illinois’ “Text Message Ban”

'The services I received were beyond my Expectations. I know from the outcome of my case that a lot of hard work and thought was put into it. Furthermore, after my case I was able to inquire advice on other legal situations.'
- A. K.

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