Matthew B. Barbara

Matt is a business litigator representing clients in diverse industries in matters in state and federal court, and before administrative tribunals. His experience extends to contract disputes, class action claims, public utility disputes, intellectual property litigation, and First Amendment issues, among others. In addition to his litigation practice, Matt assists in managing regulatory investigations and counsels regulated companies on implementing business strategies.

He received his law degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he graduated cum laude, Order of the Coif and was the recipient of the Arthur E. Petersilge Award. He also served as an editor for Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine, a journal of legal scholarship focusing on the intersection of law, ethics, medicine and policy. Matt received his B.A., cum laude, from Davidson College.

Matt was selected for the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s LEAD (Link. Engage. Advocate. Develop.) Program in 2019, which develops emerging leaders who have an interest in economic development and engaging in work that impacts the region.  

Prior to joining Calfee in 2020, Matt was a litigator in the Cleveland, Ohio, office of a full-service regional law firm. He also has experience with the federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in Washington, D.C., where he assisted in developing standards for the implementation and meaningful use of electronic health records.

Honors & Recognitions

• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Appellate Practice, and Commercial Litigation (2023-2025)
• Ohio Super Lawyers, Ohio Rising Stars, Business Litigation (2022-2024)
• Anna Marie Murphy New Partner Service Award Honoree, New Partners of Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center (2023)
• CALI Excellence for the Future Awards for Wills, Trusts, and Future Interests, and Core 3: Transactions, Writing & Skills
• Arthur E. Petersilge Award for Excellence in the Study of Wills and Trusts

Education

J.D., cum laude, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 2015

• Order of the Coif
• Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, Associate Editor

B.A., cum laude, Davidson College, 2012

Experience

Representative Energy and Utilities Matters

• Calfee served as lead regulatory litigation counsel for an independent electric transmission holding company. Calfee represented the client in contested matters regarding a Petition for a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to operate an electric transmission system and a complaint case associated with the CPCN.
• Calfee is serving as co-counsel and local due diligence counsel to a Canadian pension investment manager, helping to provide economic and environmental regulatory due diligence for the possible acquisition of a stake in a public utility.
• Calfee is providing legal and regulatory strategy, managing the development of the filing and expert testimony, and drafted tariff language, a transmittal letter, and pre-filed testimony for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America.
• Calfee is providing legal strategy and defense of a complaint filed against an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically, Calfee is assisting the client in the defense of a complaint brought by a national solar energy trade association, alleging that the client's Tariff is unjust and unreasonable.
• Calfee is providing direction on legal and regulatory strategy, draft filing, and pre-filed testimony and assisting in regulatory compliance and discovery processes for an independent organization that manages and administers significant energy markets in North America. Specifically, Calfee manages the stakeholder processes and presentations and assists with the client’s compliance with FERC Order No. 2222 directing RTOs to allow distributed energy resources (DER) to participate in wholesale electricity markets. This matter is of high importance to the client and involves FERC’s direction in Order No. 2222 and removes barriers to allow DERs to participate in wholesale markets, therefore expanding the grid to previously precluded resources. The rules developed through the stakeholder engagement and filings related to this FERC’s mandate will allow the expansion of wholesale market participation to aggregations of smart residential devices like thermostats and electric vehicle chargers.

Representative Business, Corporate, and Commercial Litigation Matters

• Calfee is representing a software manufacturing client in an arbitration the client before the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation, tortious interference, and unjust enrichment, arising from a terminated distribution contract with a customer. This private arbitration matter involves challenging and novel damages theories related to the misappropriation of software.
• Calfee is representing a mutual health insurance company in several litigation matters, specifically: (1) a class action lawsuit challenging the client's practices in connection with "value-based contracting" with medical providers; (2) a class action lawsuit challenging the client's practices also in connection with "value-based contracting" by medical providers but with a larger putative class; (3) an action alleging the breach of our client's agreements with two national insurance providers.

Professional & Community

• New Partners of the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, Associate Board Member (2018-Present)
• Case Western Reserve University School of Law Mentoring Alumni Program (2019-Present)
• Greater Cleveland Partnership LEAD (Link. Engage. Advocate. Develop.) Participant (2019)

Presentations & Publications

Presentations

• “Ohio Supreme Court Mentoring Training,” Supreme Court of Ohio, Cleveland, OH, Guest Panelist (January 2017 and February 2019)

• “Strategies for Success on the Ohio Bar Examination,” Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, OH, Guest Panelist (March 2016)

Publications

• "Tort Reform, Apportionment and Immunity," Ohio Lawyer, Vol. 30 No. 5 (September 2016)