Matthew Cron

Phone: 303-578-4400

Fax: 303-578-4401

Email: [email protected]

Matthew Cron is the managing part­ner at Rathod Mohamedb­hai LLC, a boutique civil rights firm based in Denver, Colorado.  Mr. Cron’s prac­tice focuses on civil rights and employ­ment discrimination lit­i­ga­tion. Mr. Cron rep­re­sents indi­vid­u­als who have been denied their con­sti­tu­tional rights or faced dis­crim­i­na­tion in the work­place, at school, and in public places. During his career at Rathod Mohamedbhai, Mr. Cron has helped secure over $100M in settlements and jury verdicts for his clients.

Mr. Cron fre­quently pub­lishes and lec­tures on mat­ters relat­ing to employ­ment law and civil rights.  He was rec­og­nized as a “Ris­ing Star” by Super Lawyers from 2016-2023 and was selected as a “Super Lawyer” in 2024. Mr. Cron has also been recognized as a Top Lawyer for civil rights law by 5280 Magazine. Mr. Cron received the Col­orado Trial Lawyer’s Asso­ci­a­tion Case of the Year Award in 2014 and the Amer­i­can Asso­ci­a­tion for Jus­tice Leonard Wein­glass in Defense of Civil Lib­er­ties Award.  Mr. Cron is the former Chairperson of the Colorado Bar Association’s Civil Rights Section.

Legal Victories & Community Involvement

Matt began working at Rathod Mohamedbhai in 2013 and has been heavily involved in nearly all of the firm’s biggest and most legally complex cases.  Recently, Matt served as lead counsel on Flores, et al. v. Victory Preparatory Academy, where he represented multiple students who were punished by the school after staging a “sit-down” protest during a school assembly, and two parents who were retaliated against for their press activities.  The firm’s briefing on novel and complex areas of constitutional law resulted in a published court order that clarifies the free speech rights of students.  In Veach v. City of Rawlins, et al., Matt filed the operative complaint, took and defended 8 of the 12 depositions, developed several expert reports, briefed and argued important discovery issues, and prepared a comprehensive mediation letter, leading to a settlement of $925,000 – believed to be the largest civil rights settlement in Wyoming history.  Additional results are found in the “Representative Cases” section below.

For his legal work, Matt has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers since 2016.  Matt has also received the Colorado Trial Lawyer’s Association Case of the Year award in 2014 and the American Association for Justice Leonard Weinglass in Defense of Civil Liberties Award.

In addition to his legal skills and dedication to his clients, Matt is heavily involved in the community.  As a two-term Chairperson of the Colorado Bar Association’s Civil Rights Section, Matt has worked to expand civil rights in Colorado.  For the past four years, Matt has served as a mentor for Law School Yes We Can, a mentoring program for students interested in legal careers that come from traditionally unrepresented backgrounds.  Matt also serves as the Board Secretary for the Civic Canopy, a community based non-profit organization seeking to transform the way pivotal issues in society are solved through collaborative efforts.

Education and Experience

Prior to joining Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC in 2013, Mr. Cron was a two-year law clerk for the Honorable Christine M. Arguello on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Mr. Cron is a graduate of Columbia University Law School where he twice received the Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar award.  He received his bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University (Go Wes!).

Awards

• 5280 Magazine “Top Lawyers” Civil Rights (2021)

Representative Cases

• Chivers-King v. Wyoming Dep’t of Family Servs., 24-cv-00039 (D. Wyo. 2024) (solitary confinement of juveniles)
• Kluth v. Spurlock, 21-cv-3417 (D. Colo. 2021) (First Amendment retaliation in employment)
• Strong v. City and County of Denver, 21-cv-00461 (D. Colo. 2021) (police excessive force during “George Floyd” protests)
• Forth v. Laramie County School District, 21-8078 (10th Cir. 2021) (successfully reversed grant of summary judgment in Title IX school abuse case)
• Flores, et al. v. Victory Preparatory Academy, 18-cv-02916 (D. Colo. 2018) (represented five students and two parents against charter school involving First Amendment student-speech issues and the due process rights of parents.  After a preliminary injunction hearing and plaintiffs prevailing on a motion to dismiss, the case settled for $425,000).
• East High School Cheer­lead­ers v. Den­ver Pub­lic Schools (edu­ca­tion) (2017)
• Veach v. City of Rawlins, et al., 17-cv-00188 (D. Wyo. 2018) (represented Estate of John Veach, who was killed by Rawlins Police Department officers on December 30, 2015.  After 12 depositions and the completion of discovery, the case settled for $925,000, believed to be the largest civil rights settlement in Wyoming history).
• Five Unnamed Students v. Cherry Creek School Dist., et al., (2018) (part of legal team representing five minor students with respect to education discrimination claims based on sexual abuse by former teacher, resulting in settlement of $11.5 Million and policy changes).
• McFad­den et al., v. Meeker Hous­ing Auth., et al., No. 16-cv-02304 (D. Colo. 2016) (Fair Hous­ing Act)
• Shiva Rai v. St. Vrain Val­ley School Dis­trict (2017) (represented highly disabled student who was physically abused on school bus, result­ing in $3.85 Mil­lion settlement).
• Bohm v. Medix Staffing Solutions, Inc., 17-cv-02490 (D. Colo. 2017) (filed lawsuit on behalf of individual who was terminated after completing jury service; the case resulted in a confidential settlement).
• Estate of Jack. J. Jacquez v. City of Rocky Ford, et al., 16-cv-2519 (D. Colo. 2016) (deadly force case result­ing in set­tle­ment of $1.3 Million).
• Naeschy­lus Carter-Vinzant v. Aurora Police Depart­ment (2016) (deadly force case result­ing in $2.85 Mil­lion set­tle­ment and broad pol­icy changes).
• Estate of Tanya Martinez v. Correct Care Solutions, et al.¸ 15-cv-01140 (D. Colo. 2015) (brought claims for deliberate indifference and medical negligence on behalf of estate of Tanya Martinez, who died in the Pueblo County Detention Facility; the case settled on the eve of trial for a confidential amount).
• MacArthur v. Aspen View Condo Ass’n, No. 15-cv-01439 (D. Colo. 2015) (represented individual who was forced to leave her home due to having a service animal; the case resulted in a confidential settlement).
• Las­nik v. Offi­cer Mark Mag­ness, No. 15-cv-02662 (D. Colo. 2015) (rep­re­sented indi­vid­ual on exces­sive force claims against police offi­cers and police department)
• Aldrich v. Industrial Cooling Solutions, et al., 14-cv-03206 (D. Colo. 2015) (represented COOin breach of contract and wrongful termination lawsuit; the case settled for a confidential amount after summary judgment briefing was complete)
• Krantz v. Dulacki, 2014cv34756 (Den. Dist. Ct. 2015) (brought claim under Col­orado Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Records Act, secur­ing attor­ney fee award of $40,111 after find­ing that denial of records was “arbi­trary and capricious”).
• Wil­son v. Jonathan Paul­ing, et al., 2013cv035298 (Den. Dist. Ct.) (2014) (employ­ment dis­crim­i­na­tion result­ing in jury ver­dict of $3.9 Million)
• Hunter v. City & County of Den­ver, et al., 12cv5623 (D. Colo. 2014) (jail abuse case that resulted in set­tle­ment of $3.25 Mil­lion and sig­nif­i­cant pol­icy changes).
• Hart v. VK Invest­ment Group, LLC, et al, 13cv02301 (D. Colo. 2014) (Fair Hous­ing Act claim that resulted in set­tle­ment of $97,000).
• Green-Tillman v. Head to Toe, Inc., 2013CV31094 (Adams Dist. Ct. 2014) (secured judg­ment of $200,000 for false impris­on­ment claim. Sub­se­quently received total judg­ment of $242,222 on claim against insur­ance com­pany, and helped suc­cess­fully defend against mul­ti­ple appeals by insur­ance company).
• Peo­ple v. Sain, 13CR00988 (Den. Dist. Ct. 2013) (dis­missal of charges for attempt to influ­ence a pub­lic ser­vant and harass­ment – eth­nic intimidation).

Publications

• Munic­i­pal Lia­bil­ity: Strate­gies, Cri­tiques, and a Path­way Toward Effec­tive Enforce­ment of Civil Rights (DU Law Review, Vol­ume 91, Issue 3)
• Reli­gious Minori­ties Need Not Apply: Legal Impli­ca­tions of Faith-Based Employ­ment Adver­tis­ing, 43 The Col­orado Lawyer 27 (April 2014)
• Section 1983, Senate Bill 217, and the Future of Civil Rights Practice in Colorado, CTLA Trial Talk (Nov. 2020)

Representative Speaking Engagements

Race Discrimination, (Guest Lecturer), University of Colorado School of Law (February 2020); Employment Law 101: Denver Start-Up Week (September 2019); Leave Those Kids Alone: Civil Rights Law in the Educational Context, CTLA Convention (August 2019); Exhibit Lists and Presentation of Electronic Material, Colorado Bar Association CLE (May 2019); Police Misconduct, Denver University Civil Rights Summit (February 2019); Everyone Wants to Settle: Ethical Issues in Representing Multiple Clients, PELA Ethics CLE (May 2018); The Fair Hous­ing Act and Other Anti-Discrimination Mea­sures in Hous­ing: A Focus on Assis­tance Ani­mal Lit­i­ga­tion CLE, Col­orado Bar Asso­ci­a­tion, 2017 (October 2017); Prac­tic­ing Civil Rights Law: Per­spec­tives from Young Civil Rights Lawyers CLE, Den­ver Bar Asso­ci­a­tion, Young Lawyers Divi­sion, (May 2017); Crim­i­nal Process (Guest Lec­turer), Uni­ver­sity of Den­ver, (2016–17); Con­sti­tu­tional Lit­i­ga­tion (Guest Lec­turer), Uni­ver­sity of Den­ver Sturm Col­lege of Law, (2015); Leave Your Least Favorite Tenth Circuit Precedents Behind: How to Use Other Circuits Law to Win in State Court, PELA Convention(September 2015); Written Discovery: Making Objections and Working Through Them, Employment Law & Discovery CLE Series (April 2015); Representing Executive Employees, PELA Convention (August 2014); Defending Your Case with the First Amendment, Southeast Metro Law Club (April 2014); Discovery & Evidentiary Issues, CTLA Employment Law Committee (May 2013). The Fundamentals of Trauma-Informed Lawyering, PELA Convention (2022); Intersection of Employment and Education, PELA Convention (2022); Section 1983, Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, Pueblo County Bar (2021);

Bar Admissions

• • • Colorado
    • United States District Court for the District of Colorado
    • New York