Education
B.A., University of Notre Dame
M.P.A., Murray State University
M.A., Vanderbilt University
J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School

Areas of Expertise
Land Use
Legal History
National Security Law
Property
State & Local Government

Matthew Festa teaches, researches, and serves in the areas of property law and land use, state and local government, and national security law. His scholarship focuses on the relation between property rights and public control in land use planning, and on the law of armed conflict and national security.

Professor Festa attended Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, where he served as Executive Editor of the Law Review, and earned a graduate degree in History.

Professor Festa joined the South Texas College of Law Houston faculty in 2007. Prior to teaching, he served as a federal district and appellate judicial law clerk, and he then practiced at a Texas and international law firm.

In addition to teaching and scholarship, Professor Festa served in the U.S. Army for over twenty years in positions from Platoon Leader, 101st Airborne, to Professor, U.S. Army JAG School. He has advised global decisionmakers, tactical commanders, and soldiers. He teaches classes and coaches student teams in this field, including the national championship South Texas team at the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Competition.

As a land use scholar, he has advocated for fair housing and property rights as an expert witness at the local level; as an advocate at city hall and the community; and at the state legislature. Professor Festa has served as the Chair of the AALS Property Section. He has also argued pro bono at the Texas Supreme Court, and he has participated in various roles in professional and community service.