TRUSTEE
GLOUCESTER,
CUMBERLAND & SALEM COUNTIES
Matthew P. Lyons
PRIMARY AREAS OF PRACTICE
Matthew P. Lyons served as County Counsel for the County of Gloucester for six years. Prior to his appointment as County Counsel, Matthew was Assistant County Counsel for four years. From 1993 to 2007, Matthew specialized in civil defense litigation, including civil rights matters, claims against public entities, automobile negligence and products liability. In his position as County Counsel, he managed all legal matters of the County, as well as a staff of 8 attorneys. He was responsible for the preparation of the agenda package considered by the Board of Chosen Freeholders at bi-monthly open public meetings and compliance with the Local Public Contracts Law for all county procurement. He managed the defense of all legal claims brought against the County including civil rights claims, employment claims, general liability claims, mass tort actions, claims against public officials and Open Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act claims. During his tenure as County Counsel, Matthew successfully spearheaded the regionalization of correctional services involving the cooperation of 7 counties. This project also included resolution of litigation brought by both correctional staff as well as the New Jersey Office of Public Defender intended to halt the closure of the correctional facility. He also assisted in the expanded regionalized dispatch services across county lines and added numerous municipalities to the county funded Emergency Medical Services which provided better response times to member municipalities without any cost to the local entities. Additionally, he drafted a revision to the New Jersey statute regarding tax collection to simplify accounting between municipalities and counties which was enacted into law.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Currently, Mr. Lyons is the Municipal Attorney for the Township of Lebanon (Hunterdon County); the Township of Holland (Hunterdon County); the Borough of Hampton (Hunterdon County); the Borough of Wenonah (Gloucester County); the Township of Franklin (Gloucester County); and the Borough of West Wildwood (Cape May County). Additionally, Mr. Lyons successfully litigated the merger of two police departments in actions brought by a large group of residents and the PBA, who sought to prevent the local governing body from taking action. He has served eight (8) years on Township Council for Washington Township (Gloucester County), four of those years as Council President. He served as Mayor from 2009 to 2011. During his tenure, he served as a member of the Planning Board. These elected positions involved a municipality governed by the Faulkner Act with a budget in excess of $30 million. During his years of service, he initiated many shared service agreements between his municipality and the local board of education and the county to lower the cost of providing municipal services.
Mr. Lyons held additional public service positions including Planning Board Solicitor for the Township of Mantua, Commissioner for the Tri-County Joint Insurance Fund and Assistant Counsel for the Gloucester County Board of Social Services.
Mr. Lyons is experienced in conducting training of department heads and supervisors for compliance with state and federal employment law. He has also conducted continuing education seminars for Professional Engineers and Municipal Clerks.
EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Mr. Lyons has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Villanova University and a Juris Doctorate from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Mr. Lyons is admitted to practice law in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
Mr. Lyons enjoys contributing his time to youth sports. He has coached football at both the high school and youth levels for more than 25 years. He was a founding member of both the Washington Township (WTYL) Youth Lacrosse program and the SJYL league. He also coached all three of his children in youth basketball and soccer.