Matthew Ward

Matthew Ward is a Partner at Morrisons and an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law. He has been continually recognised as a leading criminal lawyer in regional NSW and is highly sought after across the state to provide legal advice and representation.

His outstanding skills were acknowledged in 2017 when he was identified as an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law by the NSW Law Society. At the time, he was one of the youngest successful candidates to obtain specialist accreditation in NSW.

In 2018, he became a partner at Morrisons and was appointed to the Criminal Law Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee with the NSW Law Society. This committee is responsible for setting and marking assessments for solicitors applying to be accredited specialists in criminal law.

In 2019 and 2020, Matthew was a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 in the category of Criminal Law. This is an Australia-wide assessment that identifies excellence in the field for people 30 years or younger. Also in 2019, he developed Morrisons’ Moot with the University of Wollongong – a criminal advocacy moot designed to assist and guide a student’s interest in learning about courtroom advocacy.

In 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 he was recognised as a Leading Criminal Lawyer in Regional NSW in the Doyle’s guide and is currently the Criminal Law Chair of the Wollongong and District Law Society. The Daily Telegraph has also recognised Matthew as one of the most influential lawyers in NSW.

Also in 2022, he was nominated and a finalist in the category of Regional Lawyer of the Year at the Australian Law Awards. In the same year, he founded the Morrisons scholarship at the University of Wollongong, financially assisting students with an interest in criminal law and providing them with practical experience at Morrisons.

​​Matthew is known for his meticulous preparation, attention to detail, strategic thinking and courtroom advocacy across all types of criminal law proceedings.

He advises and appears for clients in serious and complex criminal proceedings and regularly appears before the Local, District and Supreme Courts throughout NSW. He focuses on serious criminal offences such as murder, manslaughter, large scale drug supply, tax fraud, kidnapping, shootings, sexual offences and many more.

Matthew also appears in select civil cases against the NSW Police for false imprisonment, assault and battery, trespass and malicious prosecution.