Laura Carlin Mattiacci

Laura Carlin Mattiacci is the Co-managing partner of Console Mattiacci Law, LLC.  This is her 20th year of practicing law; 19 of them with Console Mattiacci Law focusing solely on plaintiff's employment cases. She is the lead trial counsel for many of the law firm’s most significant cases. She is an active member of the University of Pennsylvania law school's Inn of Court and a frequent speaker on employment law and trial strategy. Her recent victories include:

June 12, 2023 - Won a unanimous $25.6 million jury verdict against Starbucks for race discrimination. The Judge later added $2.7 million for lost wages. A petition for attorneys' fees and costs is pending.

June 9, 2022 – 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. The complaint was filed in 2017 and required an intense amount of legal work. A petition for attorneys’ fees, costs and interest will also be filed.

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.” Read more about it here.

December 9, 2021 – 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.

August 22, 2019 – won 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. A trial date is pending.

November 19, 2018 – won a unanimous jury verdict of $6.314 million in federal court against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA after a five-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before the Honorable Mark A. Kearney. The jury found that Teva engaged in national origin discrimination (anti-American bias), created a hostile work environment and retaliated against Laura’s client for his complaints of age and national origin discrimination. The jury awarded $200,000 in emotional distress damages, $332,000 in back-pay, $332,000 in liquidated damages, $450,000 in front pay and $5 million in punitive damages. A petition for interest and reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs will also be filed. You can read more about the case here.

July 19, 2018 – won a unanimous jury verdict in federal court against Temple University after a four-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before the Honorable Robert F. Kelly. The claims were age discrimination, sex discrimination and retaliation. The jury awarded $350,000 in emotional distress damages and $250,000 in back-pay. The jury also found that Temple University acted with “willful indifference,” which added an additional $250,000 in liquidated damages. Post-verdict, Judge Kelly awarded front-pay damages bringing the judgement to $910,000. On October 16, 2018, after Temple filed an appeal to overturn the verdict, Judge Kelly ruled that the verdict should be upheld. A petition for reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs is pending. You can read more about the case here.

June 20, 2017 – 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, New Jersey before the Honorable Michael Kassel, the 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. You can read more about the case here.

December 13, 2016 – 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 his disability and 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 for emotional distress and as a result of the failure to hire the jury returned with a 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 would be determined by the Judge. You can read more about the case here.

January 11, 2016 – 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 a determinative factor in the surplus decision and awarded him $370,000 after attorneys’ fees and costs were also submitted. On December 20, 2016, after AT&T filed an appeal to overturn the verdict, Judge Schmehl ruled that the verdict should be upheld. You can read more about the case here.

In 2013 – won the largest employment law verdict in Pennsylvania, as reported in The Legal Intelligencer – a $1.678 million jury verdict (plus attorney’s fees and costs) on behalf of a whistleblower who was fired after complaining of illegal activity in the workplace. You can read more about the case here.

In 2011 – won a six-figure jury verdict on behalf of a worker in a defamation and intentional interference with contractual relations case (while nine months pregnant). You can read more about the case here.