Matthew Karlan Bio

Matthew Karlan is a partner in Cadwalader’s Global Litigation Group. Matthew has experience representing clients in a broad range of complex litigation, including securities, M&A, corporate governance, antitrust, RICO and bankruptcy matters, as well as other commercial disputes. He has tried cases on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts and arbitral tribunals, including before the Southern District of New York and the Delaware Court of Chancery. Matthew received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law in 2011, where he was a Robert McKay Scholar and served as a Development Editor of the Annual Survey of American Law. He received his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Bowdoin College in 2008. Before joining Cadwalader, Matthew was an associate in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable P. Kevin Castel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Matthew has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for his work in Commercial Litigation (2025) and the Lawdragon “500 X – The Next Generation” list (consistently since 2023). Matthew is admitted to practice in the State of New York and Connecticut and before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.