About Matthew
Matthew Dempsey began his legal path after earning a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1981, following a B.S. from the University of Scranton in 1978. He entered the profession at a time when courtroom practice still dominated civil litigation. The law school years and the early post-graduate period shaped his approach to trial work and pretrial preparation.
He practices at Lenahan & Dempsey P.C., where he has built a practice that operates in both state and federal arenas. Dempsey is admitted to practice before the courts of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Superior Court and Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That range of admissions allows him to move cases through trial courts and into appellate review when necessary.
Dempsey holds board certification in Civil Trial Advocacy from the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He also carries the NBTA credential of Certified Civil Pretrial Advocate. Those qualifications reflect sustained courtroom work and a record of handling contested matters from early case development through trial readiness. They also signal formal recognition by a national body that evaluates trial proficiency.
Over the years he has maintained memberships across the bar community. He is active in the Pennsylvania State Bar, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Lackawanna County Bar Association. He also holds memberships in the Federal Bar Association and the American Bar Association. His affiliations extend into trial practice groups, including the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and the American Trial Lawyers Association. He has been involved with the Pennsylvania School Solicitors Association since 1990, a long-running connection to local government and education law concerns.
Colleagues describe him as steady in court and thorough in pretrial work. He has navigated the mechanics of jury trials, bench proceedings and dispositive motion practice, and he is comfortable taking cases into appellate proceedings when the record requires further review. His NBTA certifications align with the kinds of matters he regularly manages: contested civil litigation and the procedural steps that precede trial.
He currently practices at Lenahan & Dempsey P.C., handling civil trial and pretrial litigation in state and federal courts.
