People

Matt Hjortsberg helps clients manage complex problems, from black swan events to multi-party negotiations and hard-fought legal disputes. He represents commercial contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, and owners in construction disputes, including delay, impact, and defect claims, bringing the same core approach to every matter: understand the real business issue first, then move efficiently to resolve it. 

Matt has handled significant payment and mechanic’s lien disputes across a wide range of construction projects, including energy infrastructure, renewable energy, data centers, manufacturing facilities, and federal, state, and local government projects. He regularly represents private companies and their officers and directors in arbitration, mediation, and litigation in state and federal court, including appearances before the Maryland State Board of Contract Appeals, the District of Columbia Contract Appeals Board, and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals. 

He serves on the Council for the Construction Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association and speaks regularly on construction law to contractors and fellow practitioners. While Matt favors negotiated resolution for most business disputes, he has tried numerous cases to verdict when that is what the client needs. 

Matt has been named a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation, appears repeatedly on the Maryland Top 100 Super Lawyers list and in Best Lawyers, and was named Lawyer of the Year for Construction Law in Baltimore. Chambers and Partners ranks him as a Band 2 Construction Lawyer, and he is a member of the Construction Law Society of America, an invitation-only group of top construction law professionals nationwide. Before joining Shulman Rogers, he served as managing partner of a Baltimore County law firm. 

Matt and his wife, a lymphoma survivor, have long supported the Maryland chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Matt served as chapter president from 2010 to 2013 and remains a frequent speaker and advocate for the organization. He has also served on the boards of the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Sports Legends Museums and the Maryland Law School Alumni Association.