Matthew W. Geary

Experience

Matt is a public law attorney and litigator who uses his 20-plus years of legal experience to help developers, cities, and other clients achieve their goals. With a city attorney background and extensive knowledge of municipal government matters, Matt successfully represents cities, property and business owners, and developers in zoning and land use matters, including special use permit approvals, condemnation, regulatory takings, licensing disputes, and constitutional issues. Matt is also a seasoned litigator at the federal, state, and appellate levels representing clients across a wide variety of industries. This litigation and conflict resolution experience informs Matt’s transactional and business practice and allows him to develop effective solutions when his clients face disputes.

Matt also has extensive experience representing surety companies in a wide variety of litigation and arbitration claim situations. Matt is adept in analyzing and defending claims on construction performance and payment bonds, financial institution bonds, commercial crime policies, and commercial bond claims. Matt is a frequent presenter and author on topics impacting the surety industry.

Areas of Practice

• Public Law
• Land Use & Zoning
• Municipal Law & Governance
• Surety and Fidelity Law
• Litigation
• Business Litigation

Areas of Emphasis

• Administrative law & regulatory proceedings
• Contract disputes
• Fidelity & surety matters
• Insurance coverage
• Land use
• Municipal law
• Performance and payment bonds

Activities and Memberships

• American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Fidelity and Surety Law Committee
• The Missouri Bar
• Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
• Boy Scouts of America/Scouting America, Troop 284 Committee Chair, 2022-present; District Committee Member 2024-present; Eagle Scout, 1993

Public Service

• City of Prairie Village, Kansas Parks and Recreation Committee, Ward 5 representative, 2014-present

Honors and Recognition

• Selected by Best Lawyers for Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law and Municipal Law, 2022-present

Publications and Presentations

• Co-Author, Missouri chapter in “Electronic Execution of the General Agreement of Indemnity,” 2026
• Presenter, “New Legislation and Case Law Impacting the Surety,” Pearlman Conference, Seattle, 2025
• Author, Personal Jurisdiction Over Sureties; Vol. 39, No. 3, Surety Claims Institute Newsletter, 2024
• Co-Author, The Electronic Payment Bond Deskbook, Missouri, 2023
• Co-Author, Chapter V, “The Surety’s Enforcement of its Rights of Reimbursement (Indemnity)”; The Surety’s Indemnity Agreement: Law and Practice 3rd Ed., 2023 
• Presenter, “Sums (Un)Justly Due: Attorneys’ Fees and Interest Issues for the Payment Bond Surety,” ABA Fidelity and Surety Law 2023 Spring Conference, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
• Presenter, “Surety’s Bond Obligations to Obligee for Subcontractor Nonpayment Claims,” Southern Surety and Fidelity Claims Conference; Savannah, Georgia, 2023
• Presenter, “Enforcing Rights to Reimbursement,” ABA Fidelity and Surety Law 2023 Midwinter Conference; Washington D.C.
• Presenter, “Indemnity Considerations – How to Get the Money,” Pearlman Conference; Seattle, 2022
• Presenter, “Insurance for the Surety,” ABA Fidelity and Surety Law 2022 Midwinter Conference, Nashville, Tennessee
• Presenter, “Defending Any Exposure Causation,” Fall 2017 USLAW Network Client Conference, Carlsbad, California
• Presenter, “My Rights: Equitable Enforcement of Corporate Rights,” Fall 2016 USLAW Network Client Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado