Combating Reptile Tactics in Employment Litigation: The Defense Trial File for 2026

Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Partner | Duane Morris LLP

Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. is a Chambers-recognized class action defense litigator, an eight-time Law 360 Employment Law MVP, nine-time recipient of BTI Consulting Group’s distinguished Client Service All-Star Award, and a 2021 Legal 500 Hall of Fame inductee. Jerry is a partner at Duane Morris LLP, where he chairs the firm’s Class Action Defense Team. He defends employers nationwide in class and collective actions involving employment discrimination, wage and hour claims, EEOC systemic enforcement, and ERISA, and he practices from the firm’s Chicago and New York offices.

• Education & Credentials

A graduate of Washington & Lee University and the Northwestern University School of Law, where he has
served as an adjunct professor for 35 years, Jerry is based out of Duane Morris’ Chicago and New York
offices. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1981 and his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in 1978. He is
admitted in Illinois and New York and practices before the Supreme Court of the United States, eleven
United States Courts of Appeals, and nineteen federal district courts.

• Recognition & Leadership

In 2023, Business Today included Jerry in its rankings of the Top 8 Most Influential Labor & Employment
Lawyers in the United States. Further, Chambers selected him as one of the leading class action defense
lawyers in its 2006 to 2025 rankings of U.S. lawyers. In its Global rankings, Chambers stated that
“Maatman is absolutely phenomenal,” and is “one of the top class action minds in the country. He is a
Fellow of the American College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a 2026 inductee into the Lawdragon
Hall of Fame, and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2014.

• Professional Involvement

The author of eight books on the law, Jerry is often consulted by major news organizations for his views
on significant court rulings and legal issues. He has served as a legal commentator on the Public
Broadcasting System (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), MSNBC, CNBC, and USA Talk Radio, and his
comments have appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business
Insurance, USA Today, Fortune, and Forbes. He serves on the Law360 Employment Editorial Board and
writes the Duane Morris Class Action Review, an annual survey of class action rulings published every year
since 2003. His most recent book, The Employment Law Manual, was published by Wiley in February 2026.

• Experience

Among his various cases, Jerry successfully defended the largest EEOC pattern or practice lawsuit ever
prosecuted in the history of the Commission, the largest age discrimination collective action ever brought
in Illinois, the first sexual harassment class action brought by a State Attorney General in the United States,
and the largest wage & hour class actions ever litigated in Florida, Illinois, and New York. Reported matters
include EEOC v. Sterling and EEOC v. Kaplan.

Marjorie L. Obod, Co-Chair, Labor and Employment Practice | Dilworth Paxson LLP

Marjorie L. Obod is Co-Chair of the Labor and Employment Practice and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She counsels employers on a broad range of labor and employment matters, helping organizations navigate complex workplace issues, manage risk, and comply with evolving legal requirements. Marjorie works closely with business leaders and human resources professionals on employment counseling, workplace investigations, employee relations, policy development, workforce management, and dispute resolution.

• Education & Credentials

Marjorie earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1986 and her Bachelor
of Science from Washington and Jefferson College in 1983. She was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in
1986 and to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 2002.

• Recognition & Leadership

As a trusted advisor and practice leader, Marjorie is known for providing practical, business-oriented
solutions to workplace challenges. She regularly partners with clients to address emerging employment
law developments and evolving workforce issues, helping organizations align legal compliance with
strategic business objectives. Her broad experience, practical perspective, and engaging presentation
style make her a sought-after speaker on labor and employment issues affecting today’s employers. She
has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for Litigation – Labor and Employment since 2025
and named to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Leaders in Law list. She also serves as Partner Chair of
Dilworth Paxson’s Educational Institutions Group.

• Professional Involvement

Marjorie is a frequent presenter on employment law developments, workplace investigations, AI in the
workplace, pay equity, compliance strategies, and emerging workforce trends. She is valued for her ability
to translate complex legal concepts into practical, actionable guidance that employers can immediately
implement within their organizations. She also serves as general counsel to non-profit organizations.

• Experience

In addition to her counseling practice, Marjorie represents clients in litigation and administrative
proceedings before federal and state courts, government agencies, and local administrative bodies. She
also represents employers in labor arbitrations and collective bargaining matters and has extensive
experience defending clients against claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and other
workplace-related disputes. Her practice includes advising on wage and hour compliance under the FLSA,
workplace safety matters under OSHA, employee benefits issues under ERISA, workforce reductions and
plant closings under the WARN Act, restrictive covenant and non-compete agreements, severance
arrangements, and executive employment and equity compensation agreements. She has tried cases to
jury verdict in class actions.

SESSION 1 – Defending Employment Depositions and Discovery Against Reptile Safety-Rule Tactics | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session examines how the Reptile Theory — now rebranded as the Edge strategy — is deployed by
plaintiff’s counsel during the discovery and deposition phases of employment litigation, and what defense
counsel must do to counter it. Attorneys will learn how Edge-trained plaintiff’s counsel constructs safetyrule
frameworks through document requests, interrogatories, and 30(b)(6) depositions, and how to
prepare corporate witnesses using neurocognitive techniques that go beyond traditional factual
preparation. Attendees will leave with a concrete discovery-phase defense playbook covering objection
strategy, handbook review, interrogatory drafting, targeted motions in limine, and witness preparation
protocols tailored to employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – Employment Trial Strategy Against Reptile Tactics: Voir Dire, Bifurcation, and Damages Control | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session equips defense-side employment counsel with trial-stage strategies to identify, counter, and
neutralize reptile tactics from jury selection through verdict. Attorneys will learn how to conduct targeted
voir dire to expose and seat jurors resistant to community-safety framing, deploy bifurcation and
trifurcation motions under current law including Georgia SB 68, enforce motions in limine at trial, and
control noneconomic and punitive damages through statutory caps, anchoring prohibitions, and
remittitur practice. Attendees will leave with a concrete trial file framework for 2026 employment cases.