Matthew Justin Vance

Attorney Matt Vance helped me with a very difficult situation at a very stressful time in my life. What I liked about Matt is he is not one of these attorneys that keeps you hanging on waiting for a phone call. Matt always got back to me to answer questions. If he could not because of being in court.... One of his law clerks would always get back to me with the answers. Matt is very professional and will research every possibility to get a good outcome for your case.

My husband and I  have been working with Matt for about 8 months now.  We hired him to help us get a benefit adjusted for an age requirement for IVF.  Matt is very knowledgeable in this field.  He has gone the extra step to insure all of our documentation has been submitted correctly and in a timely ...fashion.  He is very quick to respond to our questions and concerns within 24 hours.  He has made numerous calls on our behalf and has given us hope to someday have a family.  Every time I speak to Matt he is upbeat and optimistic.  He is has been our rock in the fight for our IVF benefits.  His commitment to our success is shown every time he picks up the phone.  His positive outlook and his integrity is expressed in his comments and demeanor.  He always has a kind word to say and his compliments keep us going.  We are so glad that he is fighting for us.  We take the next big step in January and we (Matt, my husband and I) are all crossing our fingers, toes, eyes, arms and legs for a positive outcome. It has been a long, difficult and fierce battle but sometimes you may not win the little battles but end up winning the war.  Matt is our legal soldier fighting for our rights and our benefits.  Prayers for a victory.

In January, 2016, I contacted my former employer to request forms to initiate my benefits through their Executive Retirement Plan, a “Top Hat Plan” providing deferred compensation for a select group of management/highly compensated employees. Instead of following the official claims procedure, my for...mer employer declared that a separate settlement agreement that I had signed at the time of my leaving the company, in which I agreed not to make future claims against the company effectively made my claim for the pre-existing benefits null and void. Upon contacting the law firm that negotiated the settlement agreement they advised me that the issues involved with this particular ERISA governed plan were beyond their area of expertise. They sought out recommendations for the best lawyer to handle my situation. The lawyer they felt was the best was Matthew Vance. Thank goodness they found Matt Vance. Mr. Vance exhibited the highest degree of professionalism. He was forthright from the very start in explaining the challenges of handling ERISA governed plans and was most realistic in laying out my odds of winning a case, should it end up in court. Matt was extremely thorough in researching the background facts of the case. He tirelessly examined all of the documentation that I had and communications that I had received from my former employer. We had several conversations in which he asked probing questions to fully establish the pertinent facts, both those which supported my claim and those which potentially could be liabilities. He has been a pleasure to work with because: 1) he listens; 2) he explains, without using legal mumbo-jumbo; 3) he considers challenges to his thinking; and 4) he has treated me as a partner in this effort, listening to my suggestions and incorporating my points of view in his work product. (I went to Dartmouth and got my MBA from the Tuck School, and, obviously, that doesn’t mean I have legal expertise. But to be listened to was gratifying.) Matt Vance handled the filing of my Executive Retirement Plan claims forms. He wrote a blisteringly precise letter explaining why the position taken by the Plan Administrator denying my claim because of the settlement agreement had no legal merit. This was not a “you think this, but we think that” argument. The entire basis for the refutation of the employer’s position was based in case law, ERISA regulations and the rules of the employer program itself. Six pages of brilliant exposition. Again, I’m just a lay person, but I think I know a smart and cogent argument when I read it. My employer backed down completely. They accepted my claim. Thanks to Matt Vance, I can now look forward to receiving retirement benefits for the rest of my life. If you want someone who is talented, who is upfront and honest, who explores all the details, who argues the facts and the law, who is one helluva nice guy, I can recommend Matt Vance most highly. He is that good.

It is hard to present here our full appreciation for what Matthew Vance did for my wife and I. I work for a union that has about 3/4 trillion dollars in assets. I have been working for this union off and on since 1978. I participate in its pension plan. I left the union in 1999 and came back to work... for the union in 2006. The union told me that it would give me all my previous time back, approximately 13 years, once I completed 10 years of service with no interruptions. That would mean I would be eligible for a pension of 23 years at the end of 2016. In 2012 the union changed the rules so that I would not get any of my previous years back. Because of a combination of bad management and a sluggish stock market the union’s pension plan moved into a critical status as assessed by the federal government. I felt very betrayed because I gave up a more lucrative opportunity so I could go back to work for the union and get a pension to retire with. The union had an appeals process to ask for an exemption to the new rule. I was ultimately denied. Thru a lot of phone calls to different attorneys over at least a month’s span I was referred to Matthew Vance. When I contacted his office he got right back to me and did not give me the same pitch every other attorney who dealt with Labor issues gave me. It seemed they were all involved with the workers compensation side of it and had very little to no experience with the more challenging pension issues. It was clear to me he had a handle on my situation right form the start. He wasn’t sure if he could help me until he did a complete analysis of my situation. He was very direct and honest about the risk. He told me what it would cost to do an analysis so he could make a determination and that at the end I could be just throwing this money right out the window. My wife and I thought it over and decided we were willing to take the risk in hopes of getting my needed pension years back. After his review he felt I had a leg to stand on. It was clear to us that he really understood the laws concerning pensions and knew how to deal with our situation. My wife and I decided to go forward. No other attorney I contacted knew anywhere near as much about the Federal Government’s rules and regulations governing pension plans. My wife and I were prepared for a costly financial battle to get those pension years back, but as it was, we never had to pay any more than the fee for the initial analysis. When Mr. Vance took over my situation and started dealing with the union’s attorneys it became even more clear to me that his knowledge of pension plans was extremely extensive to where the attorneys at the union knew I had an extraordinarily competent attorney representing me. The union’s attorneys knew they had battle ahead of them with little or no chance of success. The way Matthew Vance handled the union’s attorneys was nothing short of remarkable. He handled them in a very direct but non-threatening, extremely diplomatic and gingerly fashion; a gentleman in all his correspondence with them. With a union that has about 3/4 of a trillion dollars in assets, it is nothing short of a miracle that Mr. Vance resolved my situation getting all my pension years back without having to proceed any further with litigation. You have no idea how thankful we are for what Mr. Vance accomplished for the little money we paid him. That was over a year ago and we are still at awe when we think of what we were up against.

Matthew Vance is by far one of the most capable, honest and diligent attorneys that I have ever come in contact with. His dedication to his client is by far the best you will ever receive. His knowledge of the law is impeccable, as well as his ability to handle your situation that will achieve the re...sults you want as to why you hired an attorney. You will never be disappointed by having Matthew on your side. His compassion for his clients is what motivates him to get the best outcome for his clients.