Matthew Fornaro

Founder of Matthew Fornaro, P.A.

Matthew Fornaro is a business law attorney, commercial litigator, mediator, arbitrator, entrepreneur, and founder of Matthew Fornaro, P.A., doing business as Fornaro Legal, in South Florida. He has practiced law since 2003 and founded his firm in 2015 after developing his litigation experience in several firms, including two AmLaw 200 law firms.

Fornaro advises entrepreneurs, founders, executives, investors, closely held companies, and established businesses on contracts, business transactions, formation and governance, ownership and partner disputes, commercial litigation, construction and real estate matters, mediation, arbitration, and intellectual-property issues that intersect with business relationships. His approach combines legal analysis with firsthand experience as a business owner, focusing on practical judgment, commercial objectives, and the preservation of options as businesses grow.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, where he also earned an Intellectual Property Law Certificate and served as Senior Articles Editor of the Journal of Technology Law & Policy. He is admitted to practice in Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Fornaro holds an AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating through Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation since 2022. His dispute-resolution credentials include service as a Florida Supreme Court Certified County Mediator, Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator, and FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator.

His current work and writing increasingly explore legal readiness, AI governance, corporate memory, decision-making authority, risk management, and the legal challenges that arise when growth and technology outpace a company’s internal systems. He also contributes to entrepreneurship education through SCORE, Kauffman FastTrac, and the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship.