Matthew J. Norton

Matthew J. Norton is a Partner at Dentons, practicing in the Real Estate Law group. He maintains an international practice concentrating on corporate and real estate‑related transactions and financings, cross‑border investment, and commercial and residential real estate development, with a particular focus on resort and hospitality transactions.

Matt represents clients in the sale, acquisition, development, repositioning, and financing of projects globally, including condominiums, condo hotels, shared ownership products, private clubs, golf courses, hotels, marinas, and spas. He has significant experience with hotel management agreements, franchise and license agreements, and public REIT transactions. Notable matters include ongoing representation of the developer of the 10,000‑acre Kiawah Island Resort (home of The Ocean Course), the developer at The One & Only hotel and branded residences at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, the developer of the Tropicalia Four Seasons Resort in the Dominican Republic, the developer of the Four Seasons branded residences at The Ocean Club in the Bahamas, and a private equity buyer of the Four Seasons Nevis hotel. He has also represented the owner/developer of the Margaritaville Beach Resort in Panama and the buyer of the King & Prince Beach and Golf Resort in Georgia.

Matt holds a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law (1991), where he was Editor in Chief of the South Carolina Law Review, and an A.B. from Dartmouth College (1983). He is admitted to practice in South Carolina, New York, and the District of Columbia.

He has been consistently recognised in Chambers USA (Band 1) in Real Estate in South Carolina (2011–2026) and in Leisure & Hospitality (USA‑Nationwide, 2025–2026), and in The Best Lawyers in America in Real Estate Law, Construction Law, and Leisure and Hospitality Law (2007–2026). He is Vice Chair of the Urban Land Institute Recreational Development Council and a founding Advisory Board Member of the HVS Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference.