Matthew S. (Matt) O'Connor

Of Counsel
Contact
P 602.333.5494 | F 602.333.5431
Spencer Fane attorney Matt O'Connor

Overview

Matt O’Connor counsels individuals, companies, developers, builders, property owners, and financial institutions on all aspects of real estate transactions, accounting for all stakeholders in an effort to maximize efficiency and value for clients in the process.

With a broad-ranging private practice, Matt brings vast experience in leasing, finance, asset acquisition and disposition, portfolio acquisitions, 1031 exchanges, condemnation and easements, and leveraged transactions on both the buy and sell sides, with representations in more than $500 million worth of commercial real estate. This includes working with individual investors, private equity groups, and REITs.

In his leasing practice, Matt negotiates leases, master leases, subleases, and modifications to all of the foregoing, including all aspects of triple-net leasing. He counsels landlords and tenants on potential lease defaults and solutions for curing them. His landlord clients include REITs with ownership of more than 6,000 properties nationwide, and his tenant clients range from publicly traded retailers to small-business owners. Matt also advises all of these clients in all aspects of secured financing.

Matt handles pre-litigation workouts for real estate entities in distressed asset scenarios, including those involving COVID-19 during the pandemic and post-pandemic responses. Beneficially, he also collaborates with peers in other practice areas to manage national bankruptcy and litigation portfolios for large clients in order to eliminate or reduce insolvency risk.

Prior to entering private practice, Matt completed an externship with the Hon. John C. Gemmill of the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Credentials

Education

  • Arizona State University – Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, 2017 (J.D.)
  • Trinity University, 2013 (B.S.), cum laude

Bar Admissions

  • Arizona

  • CALI Excellence for the Future Award, Law, Accounting, and Finance
  • Philip L. Cooley Award, Trinity University Department of Business Administration

  • “An End to Preemptively Limiting the Scope of a Manufacturer’s Duty: Why the Arizona Court of Appeals was Right in Striking Down the Learned Intermediary Doctrine,” 49 Arizona State Law Journal 607, 2017