Matthew D. Cubeiro

Matthew D. Cubeiro is a partner at Michel & Associates, P.C. His practice centers on firearm regulatory compliance. He helps gun owners, businesses, law enforcement, and others understand the complex firearm regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels. For the past several years, he has authored all updates to the California Gun Laws book. He also regularly assists in the firm’s firearms litigation and answers the firm’s clients’ questions about firearm laws.

Mr. Cubeiro was in law school when a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit decided the landmark case Peruta v. County of San Diego. He had always had a passion for firearms, so he reached out to the firm about working in firearm law, and the rest is history. He earned his Juris Doctor with honors from Western State University College of Law, along with a Certificate in Criminal Law Studies. While there, he competed on the school’s Mock Trial team in the 2012 West Coast Mock Trial Championship. Before law school, he graduated with honors from Chapman University with a degree in business administration. He was admitted to the State Bar of California in December 2013.

During law school, Mr. Cubeiro served as an extern in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, where he worked on several high-profile cases. He also volunteered with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Orange County Public Defender’s Office.

Before heading the firm’s firearm regulatory compliance practice, Mr. Cubeiro tracked all ongoing firearm-related litigation in the United States, at times more than 300 active state and federal cases. He also led the firm’s Local Ordinance Project. Through that project, the firm intervened for gun owners and Second Amendment advocates whenever a local government proposed an unconstitutional or otherwise unlawful anti-gun ordinance.

Mr. Cubeiro has served as counsel in some of the most significant Second Amendment cases in California. These include Duncan v. Becerra, which challenged the state’s ban on standard-capacity magazines, Rupp v. Becerra, which challenged its “assault weapon” laws, and Rhode v. Becerra, which challenged its ammunition background check regime. He was also counsel on an amicus brief for law enforcement and firearms rights groups supporting the petitioners in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. He also appears before the California Department of Justice, submitting formal comments on proposed firearm and ammunition regulations. More recently, he registered as a broker with the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

Beyond his law practice, Mr. Cubeiro is dedicated to advancing education and safety for all firearm owners. He is a certified Firearms Instructor through the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and a California DOJ-certified CCW Instructor. The National Rifle Association has certified him as a Range Safety Officer and as an instructor in Pistol, Rifle, Personal Protection in the Home, Personal Protection Outside the Home, and Metallic Cartridge Reloading. He is also the head instructor for CRPA’s Metallic Cartridge Reloading course.

Mr. Cubeiro is an Endowment Member of the National Rifle Association, a Life Member of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, and a member of the Orange County Bar Association. He serves on the litigation team of the Second Amendment Law Center. Today, he heads CRPA’s Santa Clara/Santa Cruz Chapter. He regularly appears on CRPA TV to explain new firearm laws, and he has posted several YouTube videos on the complexities of firearm rights restoration. Request a consultation here.

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