Matt is a litigation attorney who maintains an active trial practice throughout North Dakota and Minnesota.  Matt’s practice focuses on high-value trust & estate litigation, guardianships and conservatorships, and general civil/commercial matters.

Matt’s representative matters often involve litigating the validity of wills, trusts, and other testamentary instruments, prosecuting breach of fiduciary duty claims, and remedying financial exploitation of vulnerable adults.  Matt has significant experience in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, and routinely serves as a Court-appointed Guardian ad Litem.  Matt was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Guardianship and Conservatorship Operations Committee, which develops policies and procedures, ethical standards, and provides general oversite of guardianship and conservatorship services in North Dakota.  Matt’s broad range of experience also includes representing manufacturers, contractors, tradesmen, and businesses in all areas of industry.  Matt has substantial courtroom experience having successfully tried dozens of cases (bench and jury trials), and regularly appears before the North Dakota Supreme Court and the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Matt received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of North Dakota School of Law where he was the Symposium Editor for the North Dakota Law Review.  During law school, Matt served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Shon Hastings, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the District of North Dakota.  Following law school, Matt completed a one-year judicial clerkship for the Honorable Lisa Fair McEvers, Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court.

In his free time, Matt enjoys participating in various running and cycling groups, DYI’ing projects around his house, cruising on his Harley Davidson, and hiking with his wife, son, and two Yorkshire Terriers.

Education and Experience:

Member, Guardianship and Conservatorship Operations Committee, 2025 – present
Associate Attorney, ABST Law, P.C., 2016 – present
Judicial Law Clerk, Honorable Lisa Fair McEvers of the North Dakota Supreme Court, 2015-2016
Law Clerk, Anderson, Bottrell, Sanden & Thompson, 2014
Extern, Honorable Shon Hastings, Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the District of North Dakota, 2013
University of North Dakota School of Law, J.D., cum laude 2015
North Dakota State University B.S., 2012

Honors:

Super Lawyers, Great Plains Rising Star, 2019-Present
Super Lawyers, Top Rated Estate & Trust Litigation Attorney in Fargo, ND
Super Lawyers, Top Rated Creditor/Debtor Rights Attorney in Fargo, ND
The Gavel, Young Lawyer Showcase, Fall 2016

Bar Admissions:

North Dakota Supreme Court (2015)
Minnesota Supreme Court (2016)
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States District Court for the District of North Dakota
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota

Current Professional Activities:

State Bar Association of North Dakota
Minnesota State Bar Association
Cass County Bar Association
Clay County Bar Association
North Dakota Apartment Association

Honors:

Super Lawyers, “Top Rated” in Estate & Trust Litigation and Creditor/Debtor Rights
Super Lawyers, Great Plains Rising Star, 2019-Present
The Gavel, Young Lawyer Showcase, Fall 2016