Matthew S. McConnell

Matthew McConnell is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the firm's Del Mar Office. He is also a member of the Business Trial Practice Group.

Areas of Practice

Matthew specializes in complex business, trade secret and employment disputes. He is an experienced litigator and trial attorney who handles matters from inception through trial and arbitration.

Employment Practice:

Matthew primarily represents employers and management in a wide variety of employment related disputes. He is particularly experienced in trial litigation and has achieved multiple defense verdicts. He often defends employers in wrongful termination and employment discrimination litigation, including claims for harassment, discrimination and retaliation. He also represents employers in a variety of issues, including representative and class action wage and hour matters, traditional labor matters, unfair competition claims, breach of contract, fraud and prevailing wages. Further, Matthew handles numerous complex prevailing wage matters. In addition to his litigation practice, he routinely advises clients on employment matters.

Business Trial Practice:

In addition to his labor and employment practice, Matthew handles a variety of general business litigation matters and is a member of the firm's Construction Team. He is an expert in handling high-stakes business disputes involving trade secrets, unfair competition and enforcement of restrictive covenants and non-competes. Matthew represents clients in a range of commercial disputes, including breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference with contract, unfair competition and breach of fiduciary duty. In addition, he has significant experience with Indian law and is actively involved in litigation on behalf of Indian Tribes.

Experience

Representative Matters

• Matthew has achieved over 50 dismissals of cases against employers on summary judgment and a number of complete defense verdicts at trial including on behalf of a national retailer in a discrimination, harassment and retaliation case in Los Angeles Superior Court; on behalf of a contractor on a claim for unlawful retaliation in San Diego Superior Court; and a directed verdict in favor of a home builder on claims for breach of contract and failure to pay wages.
• After a three-week arbitration, Matthew obtained total victory for two former executives, with his clients receiving over $15 million for claims relating to earn-out pay and severance pay to high-level private equity executives, while completely defending complex claims of fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of trade secrets seeking over $100 million.
• In an employment case, Matthew obtained dismissal sanctions and monetary sanctions totaling over $130,000 against the individual plaintiff for theft and misuse of company documents.    
• In a complex business dispute between two public utilities, Matthew obtained a settlement of over $16 million for his client.
• Matthew obtained a $6 million settlement on behalf of a biotech client in a dispute involving gene therapy intellectual property.
• On behalf of an Indian Tribe client, Matthew obtained a judgment of over $3 million, which resulted in a published California Court of Appeal decision.
• Matthew was involved in a number of general construction related matters, including successfully suing a private golf club on behalf of a world renowned luxury resort for various claims related to groundwater intrusion.

Events

Memberships

Member, Labor and Employment Law Section, San Diego County Bar Association