Matthew Quigg, moving on....

                                                             

Montgomery County Courthouse

Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

 

After years of putting robbers and rapists behind bars, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Quigg is leaving the prosecutor's office to enter the field of criminal defense. Quigg, who has joined the practice of well-known defense lawyer Timothy Woodward, also a former prosecutor, will be missed by his colleagues.

 

    "I think Matt has been a stellar prosecutor. He has committed himself to this job at the highest level. He has a wonderful sense of judgment and perspective. He is one of those people I often hear praise about from others who come in contact with him, that he's fair, balanced and easy to deal with," District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said last week as Quigg prepared to leave the office. "When I look at his overall body of work here, I think he exemplifies what it is to be a prosecutor."
    Ferman said Quigg has been a mentor to other prosecutors just beginning their careers and that his institutional knowledge will be missed.


Former Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Quigg
Mercury Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

                                           

   "I think it's part of the lifecycle of an office like ours. People come and they stay for a period of time and they contribute so much and then they move on to other parts of their career. While I'm sad to see Matt go, I'm also very pleased to see him joining with another former member of the office who also operates at the highest levels of practice and professionalism."
   Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lloyd said Quigg was the "go to" man in the office.
   "He's an amazing trial attorney. It's a huge loss for our office to see him go. He's definitely got excellent judgment and great character and I'm sure that he'll maintain those when he goes to the defense side," Lloyd said.
   Prosecutor Stewart Ryan worked closely with Quigg, who was captain of the firearms unit, on several major prosecutions.
   "I do view him as a mentor. He is somebody that all young ADAs go to for advice about cases and legal issues that we may not be familiar with. He is able to give sound advice about all of those," said Ryan, who started with the office in August 2012. "I leaned on him, not just when I was on the firearms unit, but before I got there, for advice. He's the person that has always led by example."
   Deputy District Attorney Thomas McGoldrick hired Quigg as an intern and Quigg spent several summers at the district attorney's office while in law school.
   "I knew from the moment I interviewed him for the internship that we had a quality individual that I would want to someday be part of the office. He kept coming back every summer for about five years. We just had to wait for him to get all the way through law school and pass the bar exam. As soon as he did that he had a job here. He had earned that long before he ever became a lawyer," McGoldrick recalled.
   Before he left, Quigg told me he found the work as a prosecutor rewarding and indicated he'll never forget his experience with the district attorney's office or the people he worked with day in and day out.
   Current prosecutors will have a worthy foe when they have to go up against Quigg, who will continue to be a familiar face at the courthouse in the role of defense lawyer.
   Congratulations, Matt, on your next career endeavor.