Matt Alford bleeds burnt orange. The other lawyers in the office thought he was crazier than hell when he made reservations to Pasadena in October, two months before any announcement was to be made about who would play in the 2006 BCS College Football Championship game. But he wanted to be ready in case the University of Texas got the bid, and it paid off. In January 2006, Matt and his wife sat among 110,000 other screaming fans at the Rose Bowl and watched Vince Young engineer the second coming of Texas Longhorn football.

Matt has a Texas pedigree. He is fifth generation Texan, born in 1965 in Denton, Texas. He graduated from Denton High School, and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, Austin. (Naturally) He attended law school at the University of Houston. Soon after beginning his legal career at a prestigious civil firm in Houston, he began to feel something was missing. Born for the courtroom, Matt found himself spending most of his time answering interrogatories and sitting through tedious depositions.

Absolution came when the Harris County District Attorney’s office called and offered him a job as an Assistant District Attorney. Matt swallowed the pay cut and took the plunge. He was an instant success and for five years tore up the courtroom with a 93% conviction rate. After prosecuting every conceivable type of criminal case, he left the office. In 1997 he began his own practice. In 1999 he joined forces with Ed Chernoff and Bill Stradley to form the partnership of Stradley, Chernoff & Alford.

Matt Alford is the boisterous dandy of the firm. His dress is impeccable… always. If one were to visit his home unannounced one evening he might be wearing silk pajamas, Gucci’s and sporting a pipe. But don’t let the attire fool you. Matt is an intimidating bad ass. He has the most pronounced personality of all the lawyers in the firm. His office is loud. It is not unusual for animated laughter or a booming explicative to echo from behind his walls, depending on who’s on the other end of the conversation.

Without question, Matt is the partner at Stradley, Chernoff & Alford with the most oratory talent. He can, from the hip, deliver a closing argument or cross-examination that completely turns the tide at trial. He goes about his trial work with a scorched earth mentality. Like Babe Ruth, he has been known to call his shots; guaranteeing victory at trial. He has never failed to back up these boasts. He doesn’t shy away from embarrassing a prosecutor if he feels it’s deserved. Matt is either loved or hated by his opponents, but all respect him. Some fear him. In 2001, he was recommended and received the board certification in Criminal Law.

Matt also knows how to lay off when the battle is won. In one DWI trial, Matt’s cross-examination of the arresting officer consisted of just one question. In closing, with Matt’s question and the officer’s answer blown up on a board behind him, he methodically destroyed the State’s case. The jury reached a verdict of not guilty before his client even had time to use the restroom.

In 2000, another partnership blessed Matt when he married his old high school sweetheart, Jamie, who already had two lovely daughters of her own. Last year, he and Jamie added little Emma to their family. Every morning before going to court, Matt performs his most important duty of the day. He wakes a smiling Emma and feeds her.