Matthew A. Hesketh

Matt is a dedicated litigator who’s been fighting for companies and public entities for over a decade. He enjoys the challenge of complex problem-solving and strives for smart and creative solutions to get efficient results, taking care to address the practical realities and real-world effects of disputes. He strategically crafts and executes a plan tailored to his client’s objectives while adjusting as circumstances change.

He regularly represents clients in complex high-profile and high-stakes litigation, including numerous wins in cases that resulted in favorable precedential appellate opinions. He goes all in for his clients and takes a team approach to overcome legal and other challenges.

Matt is on the board of directors for the Arizona Educational Foundation, and he takes pride in helping to achieve AEF’s mission of celebrating excellence and cultivating equity in public education and advancing AEF’s vision of giving Arizona public education the shine it deserves.

Prior to joining Taft, Matt clerked for the Hon. Patricia A. Orozco (ret.) of the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Commercial Litigation

• Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities LLC v. MidFirst Bank, No. CV-16-01969-PHX-NVW, 2018 WL 3545291 (D. Ariz. July 24, 2018).
• Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities LLC v. MidFirst Bank, 279 F. Supp. 3d 891 (D. Ariz. 2017).
• C.R. England, Inc. v. Swift Transportation Co., 313 F.R.D. 650 (D. Utah 2016).

Administrative Law

• 3 SL Fam., LLC v. State, No. 1 CA-CV 22-0247, 2024 WL 4614683, (Ariz. App. Oct. 30, 2024).
• Saguaro Healing, LLC v. State, No. 1 CA-CV 22-0614, 2024 WL 4360165 (Ariz. App. Oct. 1, 2024).
• Joshua Tree Health Ctr., LLC v. State, 255 Ariz. 220, 529 P.3d 1228 (App. 2023).
• Holbrook Health Ctr., LLC v. State, No. 1 CA-CV 22-0520, 2023 WL 3590695 (Ariz. App. May 23, 2023).
• Left Thumb Labs, LLC v. State, No. 1 CA-CV 22-0088, 2022 WL 17258421 (Ariz. App. Nov. 29, 2022).
• Parsons v. Ariz. Dep’t of Health Servs., No. 1 CA-CV 20-0497, 2021 WL 2659780 (Ariz. App. June 29, 2021).
• Murro v. Ariz. Dep’t of Health Servs., 246 Ariz. 527, 442 P.3d 834 (App. 2019).
• JH2K I LLC v. Ariz. Dep’t of Health Servs., 246 Ariz. 307, 438 P.3d 676 (App. 2019).
• Waltz Healing Ctr., Inc v. Ariz. Dep’t of Health Servs., 245 Ariz. 610, 433 P.3d 14 (App. 2018).
• Cannabis Nurses Ass’n v. Ariz. Dep’t of Health Servs., 242 Ariz. 62, 392 P.3d 506 (App. 2017).
• Parsons v. Ariz. Dep’t of Health Servs., 242 Ariz. 320, 395 P.3d 709 (App. 2017).

Labor and Employment

• Phoenix L. Enf’t Ass’n v. City of Phoenix, No. 1 CA-CV 23-0454, 2024 WL 3949944 (Ariz. App. Aug. 27, 2024).
• Gilmore v. Gallego, 552 P.3d 1084 (2024).
• Coleman v. Home Health Res., Inc., No. CV-15-01332-PHX-NVW, 2018 WL 2183898 (D. Ariz. May 11, 2018).

Speaking Engagements

• Managing the Medical Marijuana Employee, Annual Arizona Labor & Employment Law Seminar, September 2019.
• The Big 5: What You Must Know, Annual Colorado Labor & Employment Law Conference, May 2017.
• The Big 5: What You Must Know, Annual Arizona Labor & Employment Law Conference, April 2017.
• Workplace Violence: Lessons From Mass Shootings and Other Incidents of Violence, Annual Arizona Labor & Employment Seminar, April 2016.

Publications

• ADA Trolls and Unintended Consequences Attorney At Law Magazine, Oct. 24, 2018.
• Infliction of Emotional Distress, Co-author, Arizona Employment Law Handbook, Third Edition, Volume 1, Article 6.3, 2017.