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Matthew Piers

Matthew Piers (born 1951) is an American lawyer, known for his work in Civil rights and constitutional law.[1][2][3]

Matthew Piers
Born
Matthew J. Piers

1951
Chicago
EducationJuris Doctor
Alma materUniversity of Chicago Law School
OccupationAttorney

Early life and education

Matthew was born in Chicago in 1951. He attended University of Chicago Laboratory School and Cornell University. He received his Juris Doctor from University of Chicago Law School in 1974.[4]

Career

In 1975, Matthew co-founded a law firm, Clark Howard Thomas & Piers. He left the firm in 1979 to start his solo practice. From 1979 to 1981, he played a major role as lead trial counsel in a federal case involving Chicago Police Spying.[5][6]

In a speech at Pace University Law School, he talked about legal actions against an organization called BIF. Piers said that the government's actions against Muslim charities didn't help fight terrorism and instead deprived resources from needy people in the Islamic world.[7] In 1989, he joined the law firm, Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. where he is the president and a shareholder.[8][9]

Among his notable cases is a case involving the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man, at the hands of Rochester police officers during a mental health crisis.[10][11] The case was settled for $12 million.[12][13] Another case involved a lawsuit against Walgreens, a large drugstore chain, brought on behalf of women retail store managers. It alleged gender-based pay and promotion discrimination and the case was settled for $17 million.[14] Among his other notable cases was a lawsuit related to over 6,000 African Americans who passed a firefighter exam and were not given the job. Matthew and his team won at trial and the US Supreme Court, resulting in hiring 106 class members as firefighters and $78.5 million in back pay and pension contributions.[15] He also represented farmworkers against a large onion grower for unpaid wages and inadequate breaks in a case resulting in payment of $2.8 million to around 500 workers.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Sander, Libby (2006-11-17). "Illinois: Suit Over Athletic Conference Is Settled" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/17/us/17brfs-ILLINOIS.html. Retrieved 2023-08-09. 
  2. ↑ Hurst, Adrienne (2017-01-19). "Lawsuit pits advocates of Cook County bail reform against each other". Injustice Watch. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  3. ↑ "Appeals court revisits its ruling in teen's 1996 terrorism death". Deseret News. 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  4. ↑ "Matthew J. Piers, Lawyer at Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. | LawyerDB.org". www.lawyerdb.org. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  5. ↑ Lipinski, Ann Marie (September 10, 1998). "$3.5 MILLION PAYMENT URGED IN POLICE CASE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  6. ↑ Donner, Frank J. (1990). Protectors of Privilege: Red Squads and Police Repression in Urban America. University of California Press. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-520-05951-1.
  7. ↑ Investigations, United States Congress House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and (2010). Anti-money Laundering: Blocking Terrorist Financing and Its Impact on Lawful Charities : Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, May 26, 2010. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-16-086973-0.
  8. ↑ "Mexican workers win '40s pay case". The Denver Post. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  9. ↑ Bloomekatz, Ari B. (2008-10-16). "Ex-braceros get 2 months to file claims". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  10. ↑ "'$12 million speaks for itself': Rochester reaches settlement with Daniel Prude estate". RochesterFirst. 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  11. ↑ McKinley, Jesse (2022-10-06). "Rochester to Pay $12 Million to Family of Man Killed by the Police" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/nyregion/daniel-prude-death-police-settlement.html. Retrieved 2023-08-09. 
  12. ↑ "Rochester reaches historic settlement over death of Daniel Prude in police custody". 104.5 WOKV. 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  13. ↑ "Rochester, New York reaches $12M settlement for Daniel Prude's kids". Associated Press. 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  14. ↑ "Jones v. Walgreen Co., 679 F.3d 9 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  15. ↑ "Supreme Court rules in favor of blacks for Chicago firefighter jobs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  16. ↑ "Nevada Farm Workers to Receive $2.8M in Peri & Sons Case". Thierman Buck Law Firm. 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
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