Matthew Cohen
Of Counsel
Matthew Cohen is Of Counsel at Aleshire & Wynder, where he draws on over two decades of legal experience representing and advising public agencies in California and abroad. As a presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed Senior Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), he served as Deputy General Counsel, managing a 130-member legal team and advising senior U.S. officials on complex regulatory, governance, and litigation matters. His in-house work included negotiating international agreements, ensuring compliance with federal and local laws, and resolving high-stakes disputes while serving and living in Africa, South America, and the Middle East.
Earlier in his career, Matthew practiced at Richards, Watson & Gershon in Los Angeles, where he counseled more than 30 public agencies on municipal governance, environmental compliance, employment law, and civil litigation. He has extensive experience with public contracting, ethics, and regulatory enforcement, and advised on environmental remediation under state and federal law.
Matthew holds a J.D. from UC Davis School of Law, an M.S. in Forestry, and a B.S. in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology. He served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Oruro, Bolivia, working at a rural research station with Aymara farmers on agroforestry and soil conservation projects.
He is a member of the California State Bar and fluent in Spanish.