Matthew D. Janssen B.A. Mathematics, Colby College, 2000 J.D. Villanova University  School of Law,  2003 Commercial Litigation Attorney

I am an attorney in the Commercial Litigation department of the law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP.  As a Commercial Litigator, I deal with a wide variety of business disputes.  Specifically, I often deal with issues surrounding credit reporting, professional negligence, employee benefits plans, and international contracts.  At this stage of my career I spend a majority of my time conducting legal research and drafting legal memoranda.  Most people assume that mathematics would not be the most appropriate preparation for a person who makes their living engaging in these activities.  I would disagree.  In fact, I would suggest that my mathematics background has been one of my greatest assets throughout my law school and legal careers and will continue to help me develop as a lawyer throughout my career. In order to succeed as a math major, I always had to engage in logical thought.  Whether doing a problem for Calculus class or thinking through a proof in Real Analysis, my mind always had to logically process given information in the context of a controlling mathematical theory.  Although I knew that my mathematics background was an excellent preparation for any career path that I chose, I nonetheless was concerned upon my entry into law school that I would face greater challenges in learning the law than the majority of my peers who engaged in a large amount of reading and critical writing for majors that were not founded on mathematics.  To my pleasant surprise, as a law student and legal practitioner I was required to engage in the same type of logical thinking as I did as a math major because legal issues are analyzed in the context of the governing law and the underlying facts of any given case.  As such, I constantly rely on the logical thinking skills that I developed as a math major in executing my tasks as an attorney and I am grateful for my mathematics education.  I would encourage any math major who is interested in the law to learn more about law school and what it means to practice as a lawyer.  Although I am still learning what it is like to be an attorney, I am open to answering any questions about the law school experience and my experiences as a new lawyer.  I feel mathematics has prepared me for this profession and would recommend this challenging career path.  Feel free to contact me at janssenm@pepperlaw.com.