Matthew Benedict

Matthew Benedict, a law student at the University of Buffalo School of Law and a summer associate at local law firm, died Monday from suicide injuries, his family said.

Benedict, 26, on Monday jumped to his death from Buffalo's Liberty Building, where he was working as a summer associate at midsize firm Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham.

Since his death, his family has established a fund, Matthew Benedict's One Last Goal, to seek donations for raising awareness of mental health issues.

His mother, Anne Benedict, said Matthew had been struggling with depression and anxiety for about five years, since he suffered a concussion from playing football in Middlebury College, where he was a captain of the Vermont college's football team. Anne said he was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and his depression was the result of the concussion and most likely previous head injuries.

"A lot of athletes try to become lawyers and they're dealing with the same thing," she said. "There are many people out there [with these issues] but few want to talk about it."

After graduating college in 2015 with an economics degree, Matthew Benedict started law school at University of Buffalo in 2016. "Since he's been a child, he's loved the law. He's loved history and writing and he loved the truth. He wanted to do good for the world, he wanted to serve people in some way and he thought this is the way he could do that with the talent he was given," his mother said about his career path.

While he suffered from depression before joining law school, his father, William Benedict, said going to law school initially helped guide him on a career path.

But, "over time there was an awful lot of stress" during law school, William said. This summer, Matthew was taking two classes at the law school while working the summer associate position, his family said.

"It became extremely stressful for him," Anne Benedict said, adding she recalls he was worried about taking and passing the bar exam. He was also worried he was not doing a good enough job at the law firm, his mother said, but she later learned from the firm's partners he "was doing a stellar job."

His family said Matthew had supportive partners at the law firm where he worked and supportive professors at University of Buffalo's law school. One, Laura Reilly, a lecturer in law, legal analysis, writing and research, said in an online condolence: "Matt was gentle. Matt was compassionate. Matt was super smart. But, Matt was also an engima. He was sometimes scared. He was sometimes unsure of himself. He was sometimes worried about which foot should go first."

Matthew wrote about his own mental health struggles on a blog titled "Start the Conversation Now: Life is Precious" to raise awareness of depression and to inspire more people to help others who suffer from depression. In the blog, Matthew said he suffered "two severe episodes of depression" during a two-year period.

"These times have been the scariest times of my life and have lasted many months. Not scary because I was actually scared, but scary because I felt nothing at all. The emptiness was devastating and it was beyond frustrating not knowing what really caused it," he said.

"It is time for Middlebury and the world to stand up. Start the conversation. No more hiding. No more silence. Speak up. Reach out. Tell people you love them. Make the community and the world a better place. Mental health is no fun but it is necessary to talk about," his blog said.

Matthew's mother, Anne, described him as extraordinarily kind, while his aunt, Nancy Carney, said he was "was the greatest cheerleader for other people with similar problems."

His family set up the One Last Goal fund through the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo to help educate students and athletes in the greater Buffalo area about mental health and to spread awareness of coping mechanisms, Anne said. The fund plans to provide a series of speakers and events, along with other activities. The One Last Goal fund "establishes an endowment that will continue to grow in perpetuity," the fund's website said.

Matthew is survived by his parents; his siblings, Kaitlin Benedict (Justin Alger), Michael Benedict and Elizabeth Benedict; his grandmother, Jean Hertlein; and his companion, Kelly Quinn, among other family and friends.

A visitation was scheduled for Friday at the John J. Kaczor Funeral Home in Hamburg and a funeral mass on Saturday at St. Bernadette Church in Orchard Park.

If you are feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For more resources on mental health assistance, see our page on the Minds Over Matters project here.