Matthew W. Claman

Counsel to the Firm | Anchorage | 907.264.3311 | clamanm@lanepowell.com

Area of Practice

Matt Claman joined Lane Powell’s Anchorage office as Counsel to the Firm on November 1, 2007. Matt served the Municipality of Anchorage as its first Acting Mayor from January to June 2009. He brings his diverse experience as the chief executive of Alaska’s largest city, president of the Alaska Bar Association and as a trial attorney to the Firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Matt is also available as both an arbitrator and mediator.

Matt has managed his own ﬁrm, worked with Preston Gates & Ellis, worked for the Alaska Public Defender Agency, taught at the University of Alaska Anchorage and clerked for a federal district judge. In addition to his work as mayor, Matt served on the Anchorage Municipal Assembly, of which he is past chairman.

Professional Experience

Acting Mayor and Assembly Member, Municipality of Anchorage
Attorney, Claman Law Firm
Preston, Gates & Ellis
Adjunct Professor, University of Alaska Anchorage
Alaska Public Defender Agency

Admitted to Practice

Alaska
U.S. District Court, District of Alaska
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court

Academics

University of Texas Law School (J.D., cum laude)
- Honor Grades: Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Business Associations, Evidence, Federal Courts, Federal Appellate Advocacy, Labor Law, and Conflicts of Law
- Articles Editor and Member, Texas International Law Journal

Colorado College, Colorado Springs (B.A., History)
- National Outdoor Leadership School (Lander, Wyo.)

Practice Group and Specialty Team Memberships

Litigation

TV/Radio Interviews

“A-1 Timber Could Resume Chiniak Logging by Next Week,” Interviewed by KMXT Radio (June 8, 2011)

Professional and Community Activities

Alaska Bar Association
- President (2007-2008)
- Member, Board of Governors (2002-2008)

Municipality of Anchorage
- Acting Mayor (2009)
- Assembly Chairman (2008-2009)
- Assembly Member (2007-2010)

Anchorage Youth Symphony Association
- President (2011-Present)
- Board of Directors (2010-Present)
Anchorage Downtown Rotary Club
Maritime Law Association
American Bar Association