Matthew J. Bell

ABOUT MATT

Matt Bell focuses his practice on criminal defense and civil litigation, from the initiation of a case all the way through the appeal process.  Matt is an experienced trial and appellate attorney who has represented hundreds of clients in over a dozen Missouri counties, and has argued appeals in front of the Missouri Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court.

Outside of the office, Matt is an adjunct faculty member at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, where he helps international law students learn American legal methods, research, and writing.

BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION

Matt graduated cum laude from Georgetown College in 2007 with a B.A. in Political Science.  He went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in Diplomacy and International Commerce from the Patterson School at the University of Kentucky in 2009.  He earned his law degree in 2014 from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was the recipient of the Dean’s Service Award (for pro bono legal service), and served as an Executive Editor for the Washington University Journal of Law and Policy.

During law school, Matt interned for the Hon. George Draper, Missouri Supreme Court.  He also served as a research and writing clerk at the Federal Public Defender’s Office, and worked part-time at a solo personal injury law firm.  Upon graduation, Matt joined the Missouri State Public Defender’s office in St. Louis City, where he represented hundreds of clients at the trial level facing misdemeanor and felony charges.  He went on to join the Eastern Appellate office of the Public Defender, where he represented clients on appeals and post-conviction claims.  In this capacity, Matt argued post-conviction matters and criminal appeals in front of circuit judges up and down Eastern Missouri, as well as the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Missouri.  Before joining Watts Law Group, Matt operated his own private criminal defense practice, with clients throughout the St. Louis region.

ADMISSIONS

• Missouri 
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri

Contact Matt Bell today at (314) 669-5490 or mjblawstl@gmail.com.