The firm

Walter J. Mathews

Former SEC Senior Counsel. Florida Certified Civil Circuit Mediator. Founder of Walter J. Mathews, P.A.

Walter J. Mathews, attorney
Walter J. Mathews Founder & Managing Partner Email LinkedIn profile Avvo 4.4 / 5.0

Walter J. Mathews focuses his practice on securities and commercial litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He is the founder and managing partner of Walter J. Mathews, P.A. and is committed to delivering individualized attention and high-quality legal representation and strategic counsel.

From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Mathews served as Senior Counsel with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the Division of Enforcement, Southeast Regional Office. In that role, he represented the interests of investors by investigating and litigating potential violations of federal securities laws, including fraudulent unregistered offerings, accounting fraud, insider trading, market manipulation, options backdating, Sarbanes-Oxley violations, Regulation D violations, and false or misleading public statements. He also served as counsel on employment-related matters involving the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and supervised interns in the SEC's Summer Honors Law Program.

Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Mathews was an associate at Mandel & McAliley, LLP (now Mandel & Mandel LLP), where he focused on securities and commercial litigation. He served as counsel to a court-appointed receiver in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme and handled matters including accounting negligence claims. He also assisted in the defense of individuals facing prosecution for white collar offenses.

From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Mathews was an associate at Tew Cardenas, LLP in Miami, where he represented both plaintiffs and defendants in securities and commercial litigation. He also litigated and participated in multiple arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly NASD) on behalf of both claimants and respondents.

Mr. Mathews resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his wife, two sons, and dog. Outside of his practice, he enjoys boating, skiing, and physical fitness, and has completed four marathons.

01 Credentials

Credentials and admissions

Government enforcement experience, court admissions across Florida and the Eleventh Circuit, and certification as a civil circuit mediator.

  1. 01 Senior Counsel — SEC Division of Enforcement Southeast Regional Office 2002–2006
  2. 02 Florida Certified Civil Circuit Mediator Florida Supreme Court certified
  3. 03 J.D., cum laude University of Miami School of Law 1999
  4. 04 B.A., Cultural Anthropology University of Massachusetts, Amherst 1991
  5. 05 Florida Bar Admitted September 1999
  6. 06 U.S. District Courts S.D. Fla. · M.D. Fla. · N.D. Fla.
  7. 07 U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit
  8. 08 Avvo Rating 4.4 / 5.0

02 Track record

Representative experience

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every matter is evaluated on its own facts and circumstances.

  1. 01 SEC enforcement defense Represented issuers, officers, and directors in SEC and FTC enforcement actions in the Southern District of Florida.
  2. 02 Federal receiverships Served as counsel to court-appointed Receivers in multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme cases, including SEC v. Viatical Capital and SEC v. Americash-Inc.com.
  3. 03 Investor representation Personally represented the interests of hundreds of investors in federal receiverships, recovering substantial sums for defrauded investors.
  4. 04 FINRA arbitration Prosecuted and defended FINRA arbitration claims on behalf of both investors and broker-dealers across a wide range of disputes.
  5. 05 Jury verdicts Obtained a $476,200 jury verdict — including $275,000 in punitive damages — plus attorney's fees exceeding $80,000, in a landmark Florida privacy case.
  6. 06 Complex commercial litigation Handled complex probate, estate fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and multi-party commercial disputes in state and federal courts.

03 Press

In the media

  1. 01 WSVN TV News Video Voyeurism Case — Interview Nov. 2010 & Jan. 2011
  2. 02 Sun-Sentinel "Jury Says Davie Man Spied on Roommate with Hidden Camera" Jan. 29, 2011
  3. 03 Daily Business Review "$476,200 Award to Tenant of Landlord Voyeur" Mar. 10, 2011
  4. 04 Daily Business Review "BankAtlantic Shareholder Suit May Spawn More" Jan. 25, 2011
  5. 05 Miami Herald Securities litigation coverage
  6. 06 South Florida Business Journal Firm profile coverage
  7. 07 ABA Journal Featured coverage

Ready to discuss your matter?

Mr. Mathews personally reviews every inquiry.