Matthew W. Onest

Matthew Onest has more than seven years’ experience defending the interests of manufacturers, businesses of all sizes, property owners, and energy companies in all aspects of civil litigation. He has significant trial experience in numerous courts in the State of Ohio. Matthew is also a member of the firm’s appellate practice group and has successfully handled appellate cases before Ohio’s Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, and Twelfth District Courts of Appeal and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Matthew is also a member of the firm’s oil and gas practice group and has successfully represented companies and landowners in numerous aspects, including civil litigation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission. Matthew has experience negotiating oil and gas contracts and other energy-related agreements, including leases and easements. Though experienced in a wide variety of legal matters, Matthew focuses his practice primarily in the areas of energy litigation, business litigation, and real estate litigation.

Matthew practices out of the Canton and Massillon offices.

Professional Experience:

• Represents individuals and companies in complex business and tort litigation, including handling trials and other dispute resolution proceedings and commercial arbitration, along with appellate practice.
• Counsels and advises producers, and drillers involved in the oil and gas industry, including litigation before both state and federal courts in Ohio
• Initiates and/or defends lawsuits various lawsuits for declaratory judgment, under the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act, under the Ohio Marketable Title Act, for slander of title, for adverse possession, and for oil and gas lease breaches, interpretation, and enforcement of contractual obligations

Education:

• University of Mount Union, B.A. in Sociology and Criminal Justice, cum laude
  • Received the William H. Porter Award in Sociology
  • Trustee Scholarship recipient

• University of Akron School of Law, Juris Doctor, magna cum laude; served as assistant editor of the Akron Law Review

Courts and Bar Associations:

• Licensed to practice in Ohio
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
• Member: The Ohio State Bar Association
• Member: Stark County Bar Association
• Member: Akron Bar Association

Honors and Awards:

• Received the CALI award for Academic Excellence for Bankruptcy, Evidence, and Health Law
• Recipient, Board of Trustees Scholarship
• Recipient of the ABA-BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Health Law
• Recipient of The American  Bankruptcy  Law Journal Student Prize.

Professional and Community Affiliations:

• Massillon Museum, Trustee (2016-Present)
• Massillon Museum, Treasurer (2017-Present)
• Bluecoats, Inc. (Canton, Ohio), Board of Directors (2017-2019)
• The Golden Key Center for Exceptional Children,  Board of Directors (2020)
• Member:  Vintage Jackson Committee:  The Jackson Township Rotary Club
• Member:  Leadership Stark County, The 29th Graduating Class (2015-2016)
• Former Member:  The Jackson Township Rotary Club (2015-2017)
• Former Member:  The Young Lawyers Section Council and the Young Lawyers Section of the Ohio State Bar Association

Presentations:

• “Preserving Severed Mineral Interests”– Seminar Presenter, Stark County Bar Association (2014)
• Ohio State Bar Association 2015 Oil and Gas Update:  "2015 Ohio Oil and Gas Caselaw Update"
• Presenter at the Sterling Education's 6th Annual Landlord-Tenant Law Conference, Youngstown, Ohio (2015)
• “Defining Trespass and Adverse Possession” – Seminar Presenter, Half Moon Education, Inc. (2015)
• Presenter at the Sterling Education's Landlord-Tenant Law Conference, Youngstown, Ohio (2016)
• Co-Author of Ohio Survey for Texas A&M Journal of Property Law: 2018, 2019, 2020 Survey on Oil & Gas – Texas A&M University School of Law
• “Defining Trespass and Adverse Possession and Accommodating the Rights of Mineral Owners and Surface Owners” – Seminar Presenter, Half Moon Education, Inc. (2018)

Honors & Awards:

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® “Ones To Watch” 2021