Laura Carlin Mattiacci Attorney

First Admitted: 2002, Pennsylvania

Professional Webpage: https://www.consolelaw.com/our-firm/attorneys/laura-c-mattia...

Bar/Professional Activity:

Served on the Lawyers' Advisory Committee of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to revise the Local Rules of Civil Procedure. , 2023
Member of the University of Pennsylvania Law School's Inn of Court., 2022
Speaker at monthly meeting of the Women in the Profession (WIP) Committee of the PA Bar Association on the legal and practical effects of taking maternity and paternity leave during one's legal career, 2012

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

June 12, 2023 - As lead trial counsel, Laura won a unanimous jury verdict of $25.6 million in federal court against Starbucks after a six-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Joel H. Slomsky. The jury found that race was a determinative factor in Starbucks’ decision to terminate her client, Shannon Phillips. The jury awarded $600,000 in emotional distress damages and $25 million in punitive damages. A petition for back pay, front pay, attorneys’ fees and costs will be filed and decided by the Judge shortly. The verdict was featured on Good Morning America, in The New York Times and by many other prominent news organizations., 2023
June 9, 2022 – As lead trial counsel, Laura won a jury verdict in federal court on behalf of an African American Director of Human Resources. She alleged she was terminated after 18 months of employment for opposing race and sex discriminatory practices of the executive leadership team, which was comprised of all White males. The nine-person jury (of 7 White and 2 Asian jurors) unanimously handed down its verdict in Hightower v. Ingerman Management Company, et al. after a two-week trial in Camden before the Honorable Christine P. O’Hearn in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The jury unanimously found that Ms. Hightower was retaliated against in violation of federal and New Jersey state law and awarded her $325,000 in pain and suffering damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. A judgment of $100,000 in stipulated economic loss was added, for a total of $925,000. , 2022
April 22, 2022 – was awarded over $800,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs by Judge Timothy R. Rice after winning a unanimous jury verdict and $2.254 million judgment in an age discrimination case, bringing judgment to over $3 million in case against AT&T. In setting a rate of $700 per hour for both Laura and her co-counsel, Susan Saint-Antoine, Judge Rice stated in his Opinion: “Saint-Antoine’s experience and expertise on several of the pre-trial motions was critical in allowing the case to move to trial and Mattiacci’s courtroom skills were pivotal to Ray’s successful verdict. Their hourly rates must reflect such expertise and skill. Mattiacci’s age also is irrelevant to the value of her legal talent, which has contributed to her status as a shareholder and as a formidable advocate for her clients in challenging cases. Attorneys of comparable skill and ability merit equal compensation without regard to gender or age.” “Mattiacci has devoted her practice to employment law for 19 years, has been a shareholder for 10 years, is well-recognized as a leading employment trial attorney, and has developed extraordinary record of courtroom achievement. Her exceptional advocacy skills helped to persuade the jury to award a significant verdict for Ray in a complex case. Such expertise justifies a premium to the rate allocated to an attorney of her experience level in the CLS fee schedule.”, 2022
December 9, 2021 – As lead trial counsel, Laura won a judgment of $2,253,695.00 plus attorneys’ fees and costs after winning a unanimous age discrimination jury verdict on November 19, 2021 in federal court against AT&T Mobility Services, Inc. The eight-person jury handed down its verdict after a five-day trial in Philadelphia before The Honorable Timothy R. Rice in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The jury unanimously found that not only did Ms. Ray prove by a preponderance of the evidence that age was a determinative factor in AT&T’s decision to “surplus” and terminate 49-year-old Ms. Ray, but also that AT&T showed “reckless disregard” for whether its actions were prohibited by the law (resulting in double back-pay liquidated damages). Ms. Ray alleged there was a fraudulent “ratings and rankings” system that AT&T used to justify the discriminatory decisions resulting in older workers being placed on “surplus” status and terminated. Judge Rice entered a damages judgment of $2,253,695, which included $496,818 in back-pay, $1,260,059 in front-pay, and $496,818 in liquidated damages. A petition for attorneys’ fees, costs and interest will also be filed., 2021
August 22, 2019 - As lead trial counsel, Laura won on an appeal in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a disability discrimination case. On July 2, 2019, Laura argued the case on behalf of her client, whose case had been dismissed by the lower court prior to trial. After oral argument, a unanimous panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Laura and reversed the lower court’s decision, sending the case to trial., 2019
On July 19, 2018, Laura, serving as lead trial counsel with Rahul Munshi of Console Mattiacci Law, LLC assisting as second-chair, won a unanimous jury verdict in federal court against Temple University in the amount of $850,000 after a four day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before the Honorable Robert F. Kelly. The plaintiff, Ruth Briggs, alleged that on the day before her 57th birthday her supervisor made a sex and age based comment. After complaining about the comment and other treatment, Ms. Briggs alleged that for the next two and a half years, she was subjected to a hostile work environment and retaliated against. Ultimately, Ms. Briggs was fired for what Temple University said were ongoing performance deficiencies. The jury rejected this explanation and found that Ms. Briggs’ age and her complaints of age discrimination led to her termination and that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because of her age and her complaints of age and sex discrimination. The jury was asked to assess “compensatory damages” (compensation for pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment of life) as a result of Temple’s conduct and returned a unanimous verdict of $350,000. They also awarded back-pay losses of $250,000 to Ms. Briggs. The jury also found that Temple University acted with “willful indifference,” which added an additional $250,000 in liquidated damages. Judge Kelly will decide the appropriate amount of front-pay damages; her front pay losses are approximately $47,500 per year. A petition for reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs will also be submitted., 2018
As lead trial counsel, Laura represented the plaintiff in a defamation, false light and intentional interference with contractual relations case that resulted in a six-figure jury verdict for the plaintiff in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Kitchen v. McGrath Systems, et al., 2011
On January 11, 2016, Laura, serving as lead trial counsel won a unanimous jury verdict in federal court in an age discrimination case against AT&T. Laura's client, 66-year old, Jack Gerundo, was terminated by AT&T as part of a "surplus" that he alleged caused him, and other older workers, to lose their jobs. Mr. Gerundo alleged there was a secret and fraudulent "ratings and rankings" system that AT&T used to justify the discriminatory decisions resulting in several older workers being placed on "surplus" status. After a five-day trial, the jury ruled in favor of Mr. Gerundo, finding that his age was "the determinative factor" in the surplus decision and awarded him $370,000. After attorneys' fees and costs are assessed, the final judgment should exceed $900,000. On December 20, 2016, Judge Schmehl denied the appeal of AT&T to overturn the verdict. , 2016
On December 13, 2016, Laura, serving as lead trial counsel won a unanimous jury verdict in federal court in a disability discrimination case against the Golden Nugget casino. After a six day trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Joseph H. Rodriguez, the jury found that Mr. Jackson’s disability was a determinative factor in Golden Nugget’s decision not to hire him. They also found that his request for an accommodation and/or alleged complaint regarding the failure to accommodate him was a determinative factor in Golden Nugget’s decision not to hire him. The jury was asked only to assess “compensatory damages” (compensation for pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment of life) as a result of the failure to hire and returned a unanimous verdict of $340,000. Mr. Jackson, who made approximately $48,000 a year, also has back-pay losses of approximately $170,000 as well as front-pay losses, the award of which will be determined by the Judge. , 2016
On June 20, 2017, Laura, serving as lead trial counsel won a jury verdict on behalf of former Phillies pitcher and MLB Network analyst, Mitch Williams, in his breach of contract lawsuit against Major League Baseball Network. After an 11 day jury trial in Camden, the New Jersey jury found in favor of Mr. Williams, rejecting MLB Network's allegations that Mr. Williams violated the "morals clause" in his contract in regards to events that occurred at a youth baseball game in 2014 where he was the manager. The amount of the award was $1,565,333, plus costs and interest. , 2017

Pro bono/Community Service:

Volunteer attorney wtih the Support Center for Child Advocates, representing abused and neglected children.

Honors/Awards:

A distinction given to only 27 lawyers under the age of 40 in the state of Pennsylvania, Lawyers on the Fast Track, The Legal Intelligencer, 2011

Educational Background:

The Beasley School of Law at Temple University, Juris Doctorate
The University of Scranton, Bachelor of Science

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

ABA's Employee Rights and Responsibilities Subcommittee, National Conference, Palm Springs, CA. (March 14-17. 2023), Speaker/Cross-Examiner, "Examination of the Corporate Decision Maker – Mock Trial", ABA, Employment Lawyers, 2023
Moderator, with J. Kearney, J. Marston, and J. Slomsky, Employment Law Institute. (April 27, 2022) session on Best Practices for employment lawyers from the perspective of federal court judges. , Moderator, “A View from the Bench – Best Practices for Employment Law Litigators”, PBI - Employment Law Institute, Employment Lawyers, 2022
Speaker, National NELA Conference, San Francisco, CA. (July 2, 2022), Speaker, “Staying Organized Before and During Litigation (and Trial)”, NELA, Employment Lawyers, 2022
“Best Practices for the Recovery and Defense of Attorney Fee Claims in State and Federal Court,” – Speaker, with J. Schneider, NJICLE. (September 29, 2021), Speaker, “Best Practices for the Recovery and Defense of Attorney Fee Claims in State and Federal Court”, NJICLE, Employment Lawyers, 2021
“Making the Most of Evidence in Your Employment Case” – Speaker, with J. Sanchez, J. Rice – Employment Law Institute. (July 23, 2020), Speaker, “Making the Most of Evidence in Your Employment Case”, Employment Law Institute, Employment Lawyers, 2020
"Practice Tips from Magistrate Judges of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania" - Moderator, 2019 Federal Bench Bar Conference. (June 5, 2019), Moderator, "Practice Tips from Magistrate Judges of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania", Federal Bench Bar Conference, Employment Lawyers, 2019
“Employment Law Basics” – Speaker, with J. Pratter and J. Rufe, as part of the Community College of Philadelphia’s Civics Education Program. (October 7, 2019), Speaker, “Employment Law Basics”, Civics Education Forum, Employment Lawyers, 2019
"Phone Calls to a Plaintiff’s Attorney" - Speaker, Tri-State HRMA Symposium on Legal Issues Facing Employers. (March 20, 2018), Speaker, "Phone Calls to a Plaintiff’s Attorney", Tri-State HRMA Symposium, Employment Lawyers, 2018
Laura was the keynote speaker during the Regional Mock Trial competition luncheon for law students in Philadelphia. She spoke about her recent notable cases and what it is like to be a female trial lawyer., Keynote Speaker, Keynote Speaker, Temple Law School, Employment Lawyers, 2018
Seminar on "Employment Law Essentials and Best Practices: Preparing for Trial" - Speaker, Employment Law Institute (2015), Speaker, "Employment Law Essentials and Best Practices: Preparing for Trial", Employment Law Institute, 2015
Spoke with Judge Diamond on the changes to the Rules of Civil Procedure "One Year Later.", Speaker, Update on the Changes of Rules of Civil Procedure, 2017
Spoke on featured panel with Federal Court judges on Summary Judgment in Employment Law cases., Speaker, ELI - Summary Judgment, 2017
Laura was an Adjunct Professor at Temple University Law School. She teaches a three-hour course, once a week, in Trial Advocacy as part of Temple Law's ITAP (Integrated Trial Advocacy Program)., Adjunct Professor, 2018

Industry Groups:

NELA (National Employment Lawyers Association)

Contact Laura

All the below fields are required