Matthew Thomas Deffebach is a partner and the chair of the Labor and Employment Practice Group in the Houston and Orange County offices of Haynes and Boone. Having tried, as first chair, nine matters in just the past five years, he is often entrusted with significant trial matters.
As a litigator, Matthew has handled contract disputes and a number of non-subscriber negligence lawsuits/arbitrations. He also routinely assists on executive disputes and unfair competition claims regarding non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. Matthew was previously a co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Department.
As an employment litigator, he has managed several teams overseeing national wage and hour collective (or class) action disputes. Matthew also routinely counsels clients and assists them with disputes concerning discrimination, harassment, retaliation, disability issues, misappropriation of trade secrets, wrongful termination, social media, and similar matters. He is a frequent speaker, having conducted more than 125 trainings for clients on employment law compliance and appearing at dozens of seminars and conferences.
As an OSHA litigator, he has appeared in more than 25 states handling OSHA matters and is entering his 15th year as National OSHA counsel for The Home Depot. He is familiar with the state OSHA programs, particularly with California where he has handled numerous contested cases involving Cal/OSHA.
Matthew has also successfully defended clients in OSHA administrative trials including the following recent illustrative matters: an oil field fatality in Texas; a powered industrial truck matter in Georgia; a hexavalent chromium dispute in Oklahoma; a PSM inspection of an ammonia refrigeration facility in Texas; a fall protection case in California; a state-wide machine guarding case in Maryland; and a PPE matter in California.
EDUCATION :
- J.D., University of Houston Law Center, 1999
- B.A., Political Science and Speech Communication, Trinity University, 1993, cum laude
ADMISSIONS : Texas
COURT ADMISSIONS :
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
Cost
Rate : $$$