About Matthew J
Matthew J Lager combined a science undergraduate degree with legal training before entering private practice. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Pennsylvania State University, University Park, in 2005. He later completed a Juris Doctor at Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law in 2009.
After law school, Lager began his professional legal career in western Pennsylvania. He joined Bernard Stuczynski & Barnett as an associate in 2012. Five years later he became a partner, and the firm name evolved to Bernard Stuczynski Barnett & Lager in 2017. He is admitted to practice in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Lager’s practice has developed around litigation and workers’ compensation matters. He regularly appears before administrative tribunals and state courts on behalf of employers, insurers and individuals. His background in biology gives him familiarity with technical and medical issues that often surface in occupational injury cases. He handles discovery, hearings and trial-level work, and he represents clients in civil litigation matters that intersect with employment and workplace claims.
Active in the local bar, Lager has held leadership roles in the Erie County Bar Association. He served as Vice Chair of the Solo/Small Firms Division from 2016 to 2017 and then as Chair from 2017 to 2018. He remains a member of the Solo/Small Firms Division as well as the Workers’ Compensation Practice Section and the Civil Litigation Practice Section. He has served on the Young Lawyers Division Leadership Committee since 2016 and has been involved in the Erie County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations since 2012. Earlier in his career he was a member of The Northwest Pennsylvania American Inn of Court from 2013 to 2014.
Colleagues describe Lager as deliberate and practical in the courtroom. He approaches case preparation with an eye for procedural detail and the evidentiary record. He handles matters from initial intake through resolution, often counseling small businesses and individual clients on how to manage litigation risk and administrative proceedings.
He works out of the firm’s Erie, Smethport and Meadville offices. He currently focuses his practice on workers’ compensation and civil litigation matters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
