About Matthew W.
Matthew W. McCullough built a foundation in the law at Dickinson School of Law, where he earned his J.D. in 1986, after completing a B.A. at Colgate University in 1983. He arrived in practice in the mid-1980s at a moment when courtroom experience and bar association work still drove legal careers. Those formative years shaped the steady path he has followed since.
He is a partner at MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton. Over decades in practice he has appeared in Pennsylvania courts and in federal forums. His admissions include the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. That range has allowed him to handle matters at both trial and appellate levels.
McCullough’s professional memberships reflect the scope of his practice. He belongs to the Pennsylvania State Bar, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Erie County Bar Association. He is a member of the Federal Bar Association and participates in the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section. He is also active in the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. Those affiliations inform his work and keep him engaged with developments in employment and defense litigation.
Outside the courtroom he has taken on governance roles. He serves on the board of Northwestern Legal Services and has been board president since 2011. He sits on the board of trustees at Wayside Presbyterian Church and holds positions with Bayfront NATO, Inc./Martin Luther King Jr. Center and the McDowell Boys Lacrosse Boosters Club. He represents Colgate University as an alumni representative. These roles reflect a steady engagement with civic and community institutions.
Colleagues describe him as a consistent presence in firm leadership and bar activities. He has spent the bulk of his career at MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton, where partnership responsibilities include supervising litigation, advising clients, and mentoring younger lawyers. His practice has a pragmatic bent. He balances courtroom advocacy with an eye toward practical resolution when cases permit.
He continues to handle litigation in state and federal courts and remains active in bar groups tied to labor and employment concerns. His current practice centers on labor and employment law and defense litigation in state and federal courts.
