Matthew J. Matern

Founding Attorney

mmatern@maternlawgroup.com

Biography

Matthew J. Matern is the founding attorney of Matern Law Group PC. With over 25 years of experience as a trial lawyer, he has built a thriving practice on one driving mission: providing all members of the community with fair and equitable access to the highest-quality legal representation available.

Throughout his career, Mr. Matern has championed the cause of vulnerable employees in discrimination, harassment, and wage and hour disputes in state and federal courts. As a lead trial attorney, he counsels clients at both the single-litigant and class-action level, restoring the balance of power to those who have been victimized by illegal practices such as public safety and health violations, sexual and racial discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination.

In addition to leading a team of world-class attorneys, Mr. Matern plays an active role in all aspects of the firm’s civil litigation cases – from case inception, law and motion, discovery, and settlement negotiations through final resolution.

Committed to reaching the best possible outcome for each individual case, his efforts have resulted in millions of dollars in settlements and compensation packages, improved working conditions for thousands of employees, clearer definitions of actionable offenses, and landmark courtroom decisions – including a groundbreaking California judgment on “MeToo” witness testimonies.

Beyond his legal work, Mr. Matern is proudly dedicated to serving his community. He is an active advocate for numerous organizations that protect employee and consumer rights and works to increase philanthropic cooperation through The Satyagraha Foundation – a nonprofit organization he founded in 2017.

In late 2022, Mr. Matern also launched an environment-focused podcast and radio show, A Climate Change with Matt Matern, to interview and collaborate with influential innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders from all over the world to inform the audience on current environmental issues, while inspiring listeners to take action and create a coalition to save the planet.

Education & Admittance

Tulane University
Southwestern Law School

Memberships & Affiliations

In addition to Mr. Matern’s professional admittances, he is an active member of California’s legal community:

Member, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
Member, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA)

Accomplishments & Facts

Selected to the Southern California Super Lawyers list every year since 2009
Consistently rated by Avvo as “Excellent”
Named as class counsel in over 15 State and Federal class action claims
Led trial teams that have won multimillion-dollar settlements
Set important legal precedents, including a groundbreaking California judgment on “me too” witnesses in sexual harassment and discrimination cases.

Verdicts & Settlements

Mr. Matern’s work has resulted in landmark trial victories, verdicts, and settlements in sexual harassment and retaliation cases, including:

Ventura v. ABM – Secured a judgment of over $1,000,000.
Barba v. Blue Boys, Inc. – Secured a $500,000 award for emotional distress and a $2 million award for punitive damages.
Rich v. Koi Restaurant – Secured a judgement of over $500,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

His expertise has also led to numerous appellate victories, each of which resulted in a published opinion:

Pantoja v. Anton – a groundbreaking California judgment on “me too” witnesses in sexual harassment and discrimination cases.
Fuentes v. AutoZone, Inc. – an important case that helped more clearly define what constitutes sexual harassment.
Julian v. Glenair, Inc. – a precedent-setting case upholding an employee’s rights to be paid properly.
Franco v. Athens Disposal Company, Inc. – a leading case on class-action waivers.
ABM Industries Overtime Cases – a case that protected the rights of 55,000 janitors to be paid in accordance with California law.
(Pauley v. CF Entertainment)
Ventura v. ABM Industries, Inc. – the first reported California case using the Unruh Act to prosecute a sexual assault at work.

Other Notable Outcomes

Matt’s work has resulted in enhancements to employee rights and positive legal implications for California employees:

Reversed a refusal to grant class-action certification by exposing a damaging conflict of interest.
Strengthened employee rights against “MeToo” offenders by overturning an outdated legal precedent.
Successfully filed a class-action suit against a regional oil refinery for the environmental and safety hazards it poses to the Torrance, California community.
Collectively, Matern clients have been awarded over $100 million in wage and hour case settlements, and the firm recently secured an arbitration award for $1.7 million in a sexual harassment case.
Settled two particularly difficult and complex related cases in Los Angeles Superior Court for the same Plaintiff for a total of $13.6 million – one case for $11 million, and the second for $2.6 million.
Awarded attorneys’ fees in an employment discrimination and sexual harassment arbitration in Los Angeles for a total of $1.4 million (with a 2.0 multiplier).
Led a trial team that won a sexual harassment trial with a $500,000 award for emotional distress and a $2 million award for punitive damages for two garment workers, plus a $950,000 award of attorneys’ fees.
Successfully represented plaintiffs in two significant trials, securing verdicts of $5.4 million and $700,000.

In The Community

Matern Law Group is proudly committed to serving the community, whether it is through outstanding legal services or non-profit work. In pursuit of a passion for social justice, MLG also volunteers through The Satyagraha Foundation to support philanthropic collaboration in charitable, educational, environmental, religious, literary, and scientific endeavors.

Mr. Matern is proudly committed to serving his community, whether it is through outstanding legal services or non-profit work. In pursuit of his passion for social justice, he founded The Satyagraha Foundation in 2017 to support philanthropic collaboration in charitable, educational, environmental, religious, literary, and scientific endeavors.

A 21st Century Approach

Is It Illegal, or Just Unfair?

Legal cases can be lengthy, complicated, and confusing, but you don’t have to take on the system all by yourself. If you believe someone has violated your individual rights, or the rights of a large group of people in your community, we can help you find the right course of action.

Complete the form below or call: 855-913-1134 for a FREE consultation today.

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