FOUNDER TO THE PROFILE
Matthew Fornaro
Business Law Attorney, Matthew Fornaro, P.A.
“Preparation creates options, judgment determines which ones to use, and credibility is what gives your decisions weight over time.”
About
Matthew Fornaro is a business law attorney, commercial litigator, mediator, arbitrator, and entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience helping business owners navigate the legal decisions that shape their companies. He is the founder and principal attorney of Matthew Fornaro, P.A., doing business as Fornaro Legal, a South Florida business law firm based in Coral Springs.
Fornaro began practicing law in 2003 after earning his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, where he also earned an Intellectual Property Law Certificate. During law school, he served as Senior Articles Editor of the Journal of Technology Law & Policy, participated on the Jessup International Moot Court Team, and published an article examining grey-market goods and the internet. His undergraduate studies at Florida Atlantic University combined Political Science and Communications, disciplines that continue to influence his approach to advocacy, negotiation, and client counseling.
His early legal career was grounded in civil and commercial litigation and included experience at two AmLaw 200 firms, Greenspoon Marder and Shutts & Bowen. Those years gave him a foundation in sophisticated litigation, disciplined preparation, risk analysis, and the management of complex disputes. Over time, however, Fornaro became increasingly interested in bringing that level of legal experience directly to entrepreneurs, founders, and small and midsize businesses in a more practical and personal setting.
In 2015, he founded Matthew Fornaro, P.A. and built the practice around the intersection of legal strategy and business reality. Today, Fornaro Legal advises entrepreneurs, founders, executives, investors, closely held companies, and established businesses on commercial litigation, contracts, business transactions, formation and governance, ownership and partnership disputes, construction and real estate matters, mediation, arbitration, and intellectual property issues that intersect with business relationships.
Owning a law firm also changed the way Fornaro approaches legal advice. Like the entrepreneurs he represents, he has had to make decisions involving budgets, technology, marketing, workflow, reputation, client relationships, and growth. That experience reinforced his belief that the legally safest answer is not always the most commercially sensible one. His approach begins with the client’s objective: what is the business trying to protect, preserve, obtain, or avoid? From there, he evaluates legal risk alongside cost, timing, collectability, operational disruption, relationships, reputation, and future opportunities.
Fornaro is particularly interested in the legal challenges created when businesses grow faster than their legal infrastructure. Contracts, ownership arrangements, intellectual property records, internal authority, and decision-making processes that worked when a company was small may no longer work once the business adds employees, investors, major customers, new technology, or additional markets. His work increasingly addresses legal readiness, corporate memory, AI governance, decision-making authority, and the need for businesses to preserve reliable records of important commitments and approvals.
His litigation philosophy is similarly business-focused. Fornaro does not view litigation as an identity or assume that every dispute belongs in court. Depending on the circumstances, the appropriate strategy may involve negotiation, mediation, arbitration, litigation, or a commercially structured resolution. His guiding principle is that a business win is not always the same thing as a courtroom win. Preparation creates options, while judgment determines which options to use.
Fornaro is admitted to practice in Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia. He 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, including the 2027 edition. His dispute-resolution credentials include service as a Florida Supreme Court Certified County Mediator, Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator, and FINRA Dispute Resolution Arbitrator.
Beyond his legal practice, Fornaro is actively involved in entrepreneurship education and mentoring. He is a graduate of and has served as an instructor with the Kauffman FastTrac NewVenture Program and the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship’s Small Business Executive Program. He also works with SCORE to help entrepreneurs understand the legal foundations of building and operating a business. These programs reflect his broader belief that some of the most valuable legal guidance occurs before a dispute ever develops.
Fornaro’s professional philosophy centers on preparation, credibility, candid communication, and practical judgment. He believes that trust is built through ordinary conduct repeated over time: doing the work, keeping commitments, communicating difficult information honestly, and remaining accountable for the advice given.
Ultimately, he defines professional success more broadly than a particular case result, award, or financial milestone. Fornaro’s goal is to build a sustainable and respected practice, help clients protect what they have built and make better decisions, continue growing professionally, contribute to the entrepreneurial community, and maintain meaningful time with his family. He hopes his career demonstrates that professionalism and entrepreneurship can coexist, and that sophisticated legal counsel is most valuable when it remains practical, understandable, and connected to the real decisions business owners have to make.
Key Areas Of Focus
- 01. Civil Litigation
- 02. Commercial Litigation
- 03. Legal Research
- 04. Legal Writing
- 05. Mediation
- 06. Arbitration
- 07. Intellectual Property
- 08. Contract Law
- 09. Trial Practice
IN HIS OWN WORDS
The Q and A
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01
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to a combination of hard work, preparation, persistence, and an understanding of the people and businesses I serve.
I have always believed that there is no substitute for doing the work. Preparation matters. Following through, being responsive, keeping your word, and maintaining high standards even when no one is watching all matter. Over time, those habits build credibility, and credibility compounds.
I also think one of the things that has helped me professionally is my understanding of business from more than just a legal perspective. I grew up watching my father run a successful small business, and I later became an entrepreneur and business owner myself when I founded my firm. Because of that, I understand that founders, startups, small businesses, and closely held companies are not making decisions in a vacuum. They are balancing cash flow, employees, customers, vendors, growth, technology, reputation, family responsibilities, and risk, often all at once.
That perspective affects the way I advise clients. I try not to give legal advice that is technically correct but disconnected from the reality of running a business. I want to understand what the owner is actually trying to accomplish, what matters most, and the practical consequences of each option.
I have also benefited from mentors, colleagues, clients, and experiences that challenged me to improve. I am still learning. The longer I practice, the more I appreciate that success is not about having every answer. It is about preparing thoroughly, asking the right questions, exercising sound judgment, treating people fairly, and continuing to work at getting better.
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02
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was to believe in yourself, have a plan, and execute on it.
That sounds simple, but over the years I have come to appreciate how much discipline is built into that advice. Believing in yourself does not mean assuming you are always right. It means having enough confidence to make a decision, take responsibility for it, and keep moving even when the path is uncertain.
Having a plan matters because effort without direction can become wasted energy. But the other lesson I learned is that a plan should never become an excuse for rigidity. Facts change, markets change, clients’ needs change, and sometimes the better opportunity is not the one you originally expected.
The part that matters most is execution. Good ideas are common. Consistent follow-through is not. Whether in law, business, or entrepreneurship, success usually comes from careful preparation, taking action, evaluating the results, and being willing to adjust without losing sight of the larger objective.
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03
What advice would you give to young men entering your industry?
Learn the law, but do not stop there. Learn how businesses operate, how people make decisions under pressure, how money moves through a company, and how relationships affect outcomes. Technical competence is essential, but clients ultimately need judgment.
Work hard and build a reputation for being prepared, reliable, and candid. Return calls. Meet deadlines. Keep your word. Treat opposing counsel and everyone else professionally. Those habits may seem basic, but over time they become your reputation, and your reputation will open or close doors long before a résumé does.
I would also tell young lawyers not to confuse aggression with effectiveness. The strongest lawyer in the room is not necessarily the loudest one. Understand the client’s objective, know the facts, know the law, and choose the strategy that actually improves the client’s position.
Finally, stay curious and be willing to learn from people who know things you do not. Find good mentors, ask questions, accept criticism without becoming defensive, and understand that a legal career is built over decades. You do not have to know exactly where you will end up. You do have to keep developing your judgment, credibility, and ability to be useful.
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04
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I believe one of the biggest challenges and opportunities in the legal profession right now is technology, particularly artificial intelligence. Lawyers have to understand it, use it intelligently, and implement it ethically. Ignoring these tools is not a realistic long-term strategy. The profession is changing too quickly, and attorneys who refuse to adapt risk being left behind. At the same time, adopting technology without understanding confidentiality, accuracy, professional responsibility, and accountability creates a different set of risks.
Technology should make us more efficient and better informed, but it should not replace judgment. A lawyer still has to understand the client, evaluate credibility, recognize nuance, make difficult decisions, and stand behind the advice being given. AI can assist with the work; it cannot assume the lawyer’s professional responsibility.
I also think the profession faces a more fundamental challenge involving civility and professionalism. Lawyers are advocates, and disagreement is part of the job. But disagreement does not justify disrespect. You can represent a client forcefully, challenge another person’s position, and pursue a difficult case without becoming personally hostile or unprofessional.
Integrity and honesty matter just as much. Your reputation is built over years through what you say, what you do, whether you keep your word, and how you behave when circumstances become difficult. I sometimes think those qualities are being undervalued in a culture that rewards speed, visibility, and immediate reaction.
The opportunity for the next generation of lawyers is therefore significant: embrace technology without surrendering judgment, advocate strongly without sacrificing civility, and build careers in which integrity, credibility, and professionalism remain non-negotiable.
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05
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are honesty, integrity, respect, responsibility, and family.
Professionally, I believe your word has to mean something. Clients, colleagues, opposing counsel, and the people you work with should know that you will be candid, prepared, and accountable. Integrity matters most when the easy choice and the right choice are not the same. I also believe strongly in civility. You can disagree, advocate forcefully, and protect your client’s interests without losing respect for other people.
Hard work and personal responsibility are also important to me. I have always believed that you have to take ownership of your career and your decisions, while recognizing that nobody succeeds entirely on their own. I am grateful for the support, guidance, and perspective I have received from my family, mentors, colleagues, and clients throughout my career.
Personally, family comes first. Time is one of the few things you cannot replace, and I try to be intentional about how I use it. Professional achievement is meaningful, but it is only one part of a successful life.
I also value curiosity and continued growth. After more than 20 years in practice, I am still learning, adapting, and trying to become better at what I do. To me, success means maintaining your integrity, continuing to grow, treating people well, and building relationships and work that you can be proud of over the long term.
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