Matt Maddox
Matt Maddox grew up near Springfield, Illinois and was the youngest of four children. His father was an attorney and his mother was a homemaker. He lived in the country on acreage and raised cattle and chickens. Long hours doing unpleasant work in the cold and the heat was a great motivator to go to college and law school. Being an attorney, he still has the long hours, but he can control the environment a bit more. For Matt, growing up in the country was tremendous, with ponds for fishing and swimming and large areas for playing and camping. Near his home were farms, a hog butcher, a trucking company and a salvage yard/body shop. It was a real treat to be exposed to so much as a little kid, riding his bike around the "neighborhood."
During and after high school, Matt worked as a zoo keeper in the snake house at his local zoo. His first career goal was to be a herpetologist. While growing up, he had many snakes and reptiles as pets including indigenous species, boa constrictors, different types of pythons, iguanas, salamanders, a Giant Toad, and an alligator. (His mother was a saint!) When Matt first started practicing law, he handled a divorce for an old friend from his "snake days" and his friend paid Matt with a boa constrictor and a python.
Matt and his wife, Barb, have been married for 24 years. Barb works at the local Blood Center as a courier, delivering blood to hospitals in central and southern Illinois. Their daughter, Claire, just finished a semester studying abroad in Scotland and is working this summer as a camp counselor at a kid's day camp in Springfield. This fall she will begin her Junior year at the University of Illinois, studying elementary education. The family has a very quiet cat, Winnie, and a very noisy, large and rambunctious dog, Rudy.
Matt started his law practice with his father for five years, then joined another defense firm. After thirteen years there, he left to join up with friends who had started a plaintiff's firm. While the work on the plaintiff's side was challenging and could be very rewarding, Matt missed defense work and decided to join Quinn, Johnston. Matt's first day of introduction at the firm was September 11, 2001. A memorable day to start a new job.
What does Matt like most about the legal field? It would have to be the intellectual challenge and reward of learning new concepts and science to help defend his client. This might range from gaining a good understanding of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy to learning how glass is manufactured. For Matt, taking this enriched level of knowledge and then applying it to the defense of a client is very rewarding.
When Matt is not working, he enjoys traveling, musical theater, bicycling, working on old cars and trying to figure out the game of golf.