Matt Dana, a fifth-generation Arizonan, followed a winding path to estate law.
Arizona pride Local business leader proudly calls Airpark his business home By Alison Bailin Batz
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eteran attorney Matt Dana’s business roots in Scottsdale Airpark go back to the 1980s. His family’s roots in Arizona, however, are much deeper—by a full hundred years. “I am a proud fifth-generation Arizonan,” says Dana, whose family settled in Arizona in the 1880s. “I grew up on 10 acres of land, along with my five siblings and parents, taking care of everything from pecan and fruit trees to cows, chickens, horses and goats.” Hard work was instilled in Dana and his siblings from a young age, some-
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thing that would prove invaluable as he worked toward an accounting degree at ASU, and then again when he passed all four sections of the CPA exam in one sitting while studying for his law degree, also at ASU, during the early 1980s.
Saddling up to estate planning
“Though I had my degrees and CPA designation in hand; estate planning law was not initially on my radar. But, after helping my parents put together their estate plan, fate intervened,” says Dana, whose father passed away unexpectedly
just six months after getting the plan in place, naming Dana as the co-trustee of the estate. “This was really his final gift to me, as the experience both with the grief and handling the estate showed me first-hand the impact I could have in this area of law.” That was 1985, and Dana hasn’t looked back. In many cases, I was actually looking down—if you want to be specific,” Dana says with a laugh. He explains that he had a passion for helping people in more rural areas with