Pillar of the Community

Mountain climber, medal-winning and record-setting swimmer Steve Matz is a Hall of Fame athlete and lawyer.

Steve Matz has done some remarkable things in his life.

The 73-year-old attorney from Franklin has climbed the highest mountains in the world, including the highest of them all, Mt. Everest. 

He was part of an expedition on the north side of Mt. Everest in Tibet that searched but couldn’t find the body of climber Andrew Irvine, who died on the mountain in 1924. Matz ascended to an altitude of 23,360 feet during the climb, still about 6,000 below Mt. Everest’s summit.

Matz has reached the summit of dozens of mountains in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps and climbed to the highest peaks in Mexico.

He’s spent quite a bit of time in the water, too.

He’s circumvented many islands around the world in a sea kayak. During one adventure, he sea kayaked the width of Chile.

During his younger years, Matz was one of the top age-group swimmers in the country. 

A torn leg muscle put a damper on his competitive swimming career, but he picked up that career later in his life and has won more than 20 medals and set several records over the last six years at the Michigan Senior Olympics.

His athletic career hasn’t gone unnoticed. 

Last fall, he was honored by the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation as a member of the Pillars of Excellence Class of 2024 at the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet.

Another Hall of Fame induction is just around the corner for Matz. This one involves his profession.

Michigan Lawyers Weekly has named Matz, the founder of Matz Injury Law in Southfield, to its Hall of Fame Class of 2025. 

Matz is one of 26 lawyers who have been practicing for at least 30 years who will be honored April 25 at The Mint at Michigan First Conference Center in Lathrup Village.

Most of Matz’s nearly 50-year legal career has been devoted to personal injury law, representing victims and their families in injury cases against insurance companies, national corporations, hospitals, municipalities and individuals.

He’s lectured at the University of Michigan Law School and U-M Honors College, and he’s a discipline board hearing panel chairperson and member of the Character and Fitness Committee for the State Bar of Michigan.

Matz said earning the Pillars of Excellence and Hall of Fame honors has been a humbling experience.

“My initial reaction to both is there are better athletes, mountain climbers, lawyers, etc., than I am, and they haven’t been named to a Hall of Fame,” he said. “They deserve that recognition, too.”

Matz has found a work/life balance that many find elusive while making his mark in the legal profession and pursuing avocations that have taken him around the world and challenged him physically and mentally.

“After an extended stay in the office, I can’t wait to get away and recharge,” he said. “While I’m away, I look forward to getting back to the office and seeing my family and friends.”

His family includes his wife, Sandi, children Jared, Danny and Rachel Matz, and four grandsons: Isaac, Benjamin, Oliver and Teddy Matz. Jared works with his father at the law firm.

Rachel Matz was recently named the Bloomfield Hills Schools High School Teacher of the Year. 

An English teacher, she was honored for being a “forward-thinking educator who leverages technology to create engaging and meaningful learning experiences for her students,” according to a news release from the school district.

The back-to-back accolades from the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation and Michigan Lawyers Weekly have caused Steve Matz to reflect on the impact his parents have had on his life.

David Matz died at age 90 in 2017 while living in Boca Raton, Florida.

“My father was a great athlete and a business owner in the scrap metal business. But the main thing about him is I watched how he treated people with respect and saw how much people loved him,” Steve Matz said. “They called him the mayor of Boca West Country Club. He was a real mensch. That’s the best way to describe him.”

As for his mother, Gertrude, Steve Matz said, she’s a 93-year-old dynamo who can still swim a mile doing flip turns.

David and Gertrude Matz had been married for 66 years when David Matz passed away.

Steve Matz is a Southfield High School, U-M and George Washington University Law School graduate.

Send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com.