Matthew Carden is an associate in the Newport Beach office of Irell & Manella LLP.

Mr. Carden received his J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke University School of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. He received his B.S., cum laude, in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and had previously studied Computer Science at Princeton University.

Prior to law school, Mr. Carden spent fourteen years in the software industry and three years in venture capital. Mr. Carden’s software development experience includes designing network management software for Hewlett-Packard, writing portions of the “Sniffer” network analyzer for Network General, commercializing Bayesian analytics the US military had used to predict guerrilla attacks, and developing information visualization software for customers like Merrill Lynch and Encyclopedia Britannica. He has written over a hundred thousand lines of code, and his roles have included Software Architect, Principal Engineer, and CTO.

After launching an online marketplace sold in 2000, Mr. Carden spent three years with Bay Area venture capital firms, where his work included screening business plans, performing technical due diligence, and appraising patent portfolios. He helped raise capital for a new technology fund with visits to strategic investors in London, Paris, and Milan, and he served on the Board of Directors of a portfolio company.

Mr. Carden is an avid avoider of marathons and triathlons who enjoys gadgets, classical music, and trying to maintain his New Testament Greek.

Bar Admissions

• California, 2007