Matthew Ericksen Sr. 09L

Founder | The Ericksen Firm | Alpharetta, GA

Matthew Ericksen Sr. is a civil rights attorney with a growing national reputation. After graduating from Emory School of Law, he joined the Clayton County Solicitor General’s Office. Ericksen transitioned to a civil litigation practice, and his professional skills grew over the years as he represented defendants in high-stakes personal injury litigation. However, his true passion is defending the constitutional rights of people who have been victimized by police brutality and misconduct. Since 2020 his work on the Manuel Ellis case in Tacoma, Washington, has brought attention to a great injustice and helped drive reforms. He founded The Ericksen Firm to direct his energy, resources, and passion to cases where he feels like he can truly make a difference. He credits a large part of his success to his Emory education. 

“There is injustice in our country, and I am fortunate that I get to work on legal cases that have the potential to create lasting, positive change for all Americans. My work on the Manuel Ellis case helped lead to numerous reforms in the state of Washington, including a ban on police chokeholds, implementation of police body cameras, and the creation of the Office of Independent Investigations, a new statewide agency tasked with investigating deadly police encounters.”