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Taladay remains the same after achieving various successes in life |
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Front Page -
Front Page Story
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Written by Mike Ishman
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Monday, 09 November 2009 |
Matthew Taladay, seen in his office at Hanak, Guido and Taladay in DuBois, has been practicing law for more than 20 years. (Photo by Mike Ishman/The Punuxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY — Lawyer. Musician. Mountain Climber. Runner. Husband.
These words, however eclectic and unrelated as they may seem, all describe one person: Matthew Taladay. Since graduating from Punxsutawney Area High School in 1978, Taladay has lived his life to the fullest and has strived to remain at the peak of everything from his profession and health, to his hobbies and home life.
To say Taladay always wanted to be a lawyer would not exactly be true. After graduating from PAHS with "very unremarkable grades," Taladay wasn't sure what he was going to do. 

"I actually had an opportunity to go to West Point," he said. "I was nominated, but chose not to go."
By the time he chose to go to college, Slippery Rock University was the only college still accepting applications.
After spending two years at Slippery Rock studying communications, he decided to switch his major to philosophy. He then transfered to Indiana University of Pennsylvania for his junior year, where he double majored in English and philosophy. After a final transfer during his senior year to Clarion University, Taladay graduated in 1982 with a degree in speech communication and theater. It was during college that Taladay developed the work ethic he has today.
"During weekends and sometimes during the week, I basically made my tuition by playing guitar and working odd jobs," he said.
Following graduation, Taladay took a couple years off from school.
"I kicked around for a couple years and didn't really know what I wanted to do," he explained. "I played in bands, worked in a fitness center, a number of things."
It was during college that Taladay took the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). He took the test after an argument with a friend, an aspiring law student who was taking a LSAT prep course in order to do well.
"We got in a heated discussion about whether it actually did any good," Taladay recalled. "It devolved to the point where it was sort of, ‘OK, smarty pants, why don't you take the test and see how you do?' It was that discussion that led to me saying, ‘Why not? It can't hurt.'"
As it turned out, Taladay did well on the test and was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh's law program.
"Law school was a kaleidoscope of confusion, apprehension, terror and befuddlement, but it went by pretty quickly," he said.
When he was beginning law school, Taladay wasn't sure if the practice of law was something he would want to pursue.
"I really didn't know that I was going to like practicing law or really know the practice of law until the summer after my first year when I started work with my current partner, Bob Hanak," he said. "He put me right to work. I saw it was a practical application of what was being thrown at me in law school, and I really took to it. I continued to work for him part-time throughout the rest of law school and my summers."
After graduating from law school, Taladay was stuck in an in-between phase.
"Every law school graduate goes through it — that no-man's land," he said. "You are a law school graduate, but you haven't yet taken the bar exam."
After studying for several months, Taladay took the bar exam, which led to a second in-between phase.
"You have the period of even more apprehension where you are waiting to see whether or not you passed," he said.
It was during this time that Taladay took a trial skills course at Harvard, as well as another specialized class.
The extra courses paid off for Taladay, as he ended up passing the test once he took it.
"When I did pass the bar in November, it was only a couple months until Hanek had me in the courtroom, trying cases," Taladay said. "I think the better education I got, in addition to law school, was just observing Bob in various settings — courtrooms, depositions, hearings, seeing how it was done."
During his first year at law school, Taladay sent his resume to Hanak.
After Taladay finished his schooling, Hanek called, interviewed him and eventually offered Taladay a position.
"I've never worked anywhere since," Taladay explained.
Since becoming a partner in the early ‘90s, Taladay estimates he has worked on thousands of cases.
"For every case that goes to trial, there are probably 99 that don't," he said. "Most of them settle."
These days, Taladay says he is primarily a defense attorney, although he will do plaintiff work on occasion.
"I try to keep an objective perspective," he said. "I think that walking both sides of the fence maybe gives me some perspective and some ability to evaluate cases and look at it from hopefully a more considerate standpoint."
Outside of practicing law, Taladay has numerous endeavors. In addition to being a charter member and president of Rails to Trails, Taladay plays guitar in two bands, Down to the Wire and Frostburg's Lounge Lizards.
"It's an outlet," he said. "It's a way to go out, have some fun, and make what hopefully turns out to be good noise. The electric guitar is such a cathartic tool. You can beat on it, bash on it, make loud noises and it makes you feel better. It's something I enjoy."
Taladay prides himself on remaining physically active.
"People say you can't keep doing what you did in high school," he said. "I'm trying to buck that trend. My passion is mountain climbing. That's one of the things that I try to keep in shape to keeping doing it. Every year, I try to take a trip or a couple trips to some destination. It's a good excuse to try to stay in shape and go somewhere exotic."
Taladay has climbed in many mountain ranges, including the Pandogan Andes in South America, the Canadian Rockies, the Italian Dolomites, Yosemite Valley and the Grand Tetons.
"It helps to motivate you," he said. "It gets you through the Pennsylvanian winter and the ugly mud season that follows to say, ‘OK. I have to keep after it because in a few months, I'll be going here and trying to climb this.' It gives you something to look forward to."
When Taladay goes to these places, he can always count on one person being with him. He and his wife, Amy, have been married for more than 13 years.
"She is fabulous," he said. "The nights that I don't get home for dinner until 10 o'clock, she waits up. The days on end where I'm preoccupied and I sit at breakfast in the morning staring into my eggs because I'm thinking about what I'm going to say to the jury that morning, she bears the brunt of that."
Taladay says that without the support he gets at home, he would not be able to work the way he does.
"She listens to my woes when I have something to complain about," he said. "She cheers me on and supports me when I do well. She's my biggest fan. It's nice to have your best friend as your partner."
Taladay is eager to profess his love for his hometown.
"I had some opportunities to go elsewhere and practice law," he said. "Of course I've thought about it — the green pastures and the promise of going somewhere new and exciting. I always knew I wouldn't find more honest and generous people than in Punxsutawney. The people I know and love are in Punxsutawney. My family is in Punxsutawney. Punxsutawney was, is, and will continue to be my home."
Although 31 years have passed since he graduated from PAHS, Taladay hopes he has remained the same.
"Hopefully, the folks I know in town and from high school would think I'm pretty much the same I was in high school," he said.
"The ability to practice a profession, live in a small town and have a balanced life is really a great blessing. I'm a happy guy."
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 November 2009 )
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