Matthew A. Schenk

Partner Matt Schenk has more than thirty years of combined experience in law and government. Prior to starting Schenk and Bruetsch, Schenk was named partner at Ottenwess, Taweel & Schenk in August 2013 to head up the firm's new Governmental Affairs practice group. At Ottenwess Law, he built his own practice from the ground up representing both government and private sector clients. His practice has focused on government contracting, municipal law, real estate, economic development, and labor employment. Schenk is a skilled mediator and facilitator.

Prior to moving into private practice, Schenk served as the chief operating officer and chief compliance officer of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) where he assisted the department in resolving a thirty-six-year-old court action involving environmental noncompliance. As part of that effort, he worked to create operational independence for the utility in the areas of law, finance, human resources, and procurement and created the blueprint for what eventually became the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Before his appointment to DWSD's executive management team, Schenk served in various roles within Wayne County government, including chief of staff, assistant county executive, and principal attorney. As principal attorney in Wayne County, he supervised the municipal law section of the county's law department. As chief of staff, he managed various county departments, supervising nearly 2,000 employees, and was responsible for the development and implementation process for Wayne County’s $2 billion annual budget. Also, Schenk worked on numerous regional initiatives, including the development of the regional convention authority, the regional transit plan for Southeast Michigan, and the Aerotropolis.

Before coming to Wayne County, Schenk worked for the City of Detroit for seven years within both the legislative and executive branches of government. His last held position with the City of Detroit was as legislative assistant corporation counsel in the law department.

Schenk earned his law degree from Wayne State University and was admitted to the Michigan Bar Association in 1996. Schenk received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, where he double majored with honors in both. Schenk has held leadership positions in numerous civic and community organizations such as SMART, SEMCOG, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and numerous tax credit authorities.

Matthew Schenk has received numerous recognitions over the years including Crains’ 40 Uunder 40, admitted admission to the Detroit Chamber’s Leadership Detroit Class (Class 28), and has been covered by many publications including written up in Michigan Lawyers Weekly and, the Detroit Jewish News, and other publications.