The Honorable Matthew S. Anderson

Mountains Move Law was founded by the Honorable Matthew S. Anderson — a former Orange County Superior Court judge whose two-and-a-half decades on the bench were defined by one conviction: that people struggling with addiction and caught in the criminal legal system deserve restoration, not just punishment.

Judge Anderson began his legal career as a Deputy Public Defender for the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office and later served as a Senior Deputy District Attorney for the Orange County District Attorney's Office — giving him a rare, three-dimensional understanding of the criminal justice system from every angle.

He was appointed to the Orange County Municipal Court by Governor Pete Wilson in 1998 and elevated to the Superior Court that same year. Starting in 2000, he presided over the Drug and DUI courts within the Orange County Collaborative Courts programs — eventually leading the DUI court at the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center to become one of only four designated national academy courts, serving as a model for other jurisdictions across the country.

Over more than 1,000 graduates and more than two decades of service, Judge Anderson's courtroom became known as a place where accountability and compassion coexisted — where lives were genuinely changed. He received the Community Education Award (2002), was named Judge of the Year by the Orange County Narcotics Officers' Association (2004), earned the national DWI Court Leadership Award from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (2016), and was recognized as a "Leader in Prevention" by the Wellness & Prevention Center of South Orange County.

Now, Judge Anderson brings that same passion to private practice. Mountains Move Law exists because he believes the fight for freedom — real freedom from addiction, from the criminal justice system, from a record that follows you — is worth taking on every single day.