Employment Liability in Class Litigation

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

Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. is a Partner at Duane Morris LLP, where he chairs the firm’s Class Action Defense Team across its Chicago and New York offices. Known to colleagues and clients as Jerry, he is a Chambers-recognized class action defense litigator who has built a national reputation in the field. His work centers on defending complex class action litigation, and his perspective carries  eight well beyond the courtroom—major news organizations regularly consult him for his views on significant court rulings and emerging legal issues. That combination of frontline litigation experience and recognized thought leadership makes him a leading voice on the developments shaping class action defense.

• Education & Credentials

Jerry is a graduate of Washington & Lee University and the Northwestern University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Illinois and New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Jerry is an eight-time Law360 Employment Law MVP, a nine-time recipient of BTI Consulting Group’s distinguished Client Service All-Star Award, and a 2021 Legal 500 Hall of Fame inductee. Chambers has selected him as one of the leading class action defense lawyers in its U.S. rankings from 2006 to 2025, with its Global rankings calling him “absolutely phenomenal” and “one of the top-class action minds in the country.” In 2023, Business Today included him in its rankings of the Top 8 Most Influential Labor & Employment Lawyers in the United States.

• Professional Involvement

Jerry has served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law for 35 years. He is the author of eight books on law and has served as a legal commentator on the Public Broadcasting System, National Public Radio, MSNBC, CNBC, and USA Talk Radio, with his comments appearing in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Insurance, USA Today, Fortune, and Forbes.

• Experience

Among his various cases, Jerry has 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.

SESSION 1 – Workplace Class Actions: Filings, Certification, and Settlements | 1:00pm – 1:15pm

Rising workplace class action filings, the analytics used to assess certification outcomes, and settlement trends—spanning discrimination, wage and hour, data privacy, benefits, and algorithmic bias claims.

SESSION 2 – EEOC Enfoncement Radar | 1:15pm – 1:30pm

EEOC enforcement priorities drive workplace class action exposure. Knowing where the agency is focused helps anticipate where claims follow and aligns compliance to manage that exposure.

SESSION 3 – Algorithmic Bias and Emerging Areas of Risk | 1:30pm – 1:45pm

Algorithmic bias is an emerging class action risk as employers deploy new technologies, creating exposure traditional compliance was not built to address.

SESSION 4 – Key Rulings Shaping Workplace Compliance In 2026 | 1:45pm – 2:00pm

Recent rulings are redefining workplace compliance for 2026, reshaping how courts approach class action claims and prompting corporate counsel to adjust strategy before exposure materializes.