A native of North Carolina, Matt grew up in Marion. He attended McDowell High School, where he met his future wife, Jennifer. He attended North Carolina State University and graduated in 2005 summa cum laude, receiving a B.A. with Honor in History and a B.A. in Political Science. In 2009, he received his law degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

During law school, Matt was one of ten students from his class selected to the Broun National Trial Team, the law school's nationally competitive mock trial group. In his first year on the team, he competed in the American Association of Justice (AAJ) mock trial tournament, his team placing 4th overall in the Memphis Regional competition. During his final year of law school, Matt was elected President of the Broun National Trial Team and the UNC Trial Law Academy. That year he competed in the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) "Tournament of Champions" with the sixteen top-ranked trial teams in the U.S.

Also, during his third year of law school, Matt worked in the UNC Civil Legal Assistance Clinic as a North Carolina Bar-Certified Student Attorney. He represented indigent clients from the Triangle area in pro-bono matters ranging from bankruptcy defense, social security disability claims, child custody and support, and access to public housing. He also served as a Dean's Fellow during his last two years of law school, mentoring first year students in academics.

Matt began his career as an attorney in Pittsboro, NC. There he practiced in the areas of civil litigation and criminal defense. He has been practicing law with Zaytoun Law Firm, PLLC since June 2010. He was recently appointed as the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) "New Lawyers Division" CLE Chairman, as well as a member of the NCAJ Education committee.