Matt has over 30 years’ experience as a labor and employment attorney representing both employers and employees. Matt has represented Texas municipalities, small employers, Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies, as well as individual employees.
While still an associate, Matt created the first draft of what would eventually become the Fifth Circuit’s first employment law pattern jury charges. After submitting that draft to United States District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman, Judge Feldman asked Matt to form and chair a committee of plaintiff and defense lawyers to produce a final product. Matt chaired the Fifth Circuit Labor and Employment Law Pattern Jury Charge Advisory Committee for 8 years, and the committee was responsible for the employment jury charges published by the Fifth Circuit in 2006 and 2009.
In 2012, Matt was the managing partner of Ford & Harrison's Dallas office. F&H is a national labor and employment law boutique with offices throughout the United States. Around that time, former United States District Judge E. Joe Kendall recruited Matt away from F&H to open an employment practice at Kendall Law Group LLP. There, Matt was first paired with Jamie Gilmore, at the time a 7-year lawyer, and Brittney Thompson, then his paralegal. The three of them successfully tried multiple cases together in 2013.
In 2016, with Judge Kendall moving slowly toward retirement, Matt left and founded his own firm. In 2023, Matt recruited Jamie and Brittney (at that time a marvelous 3-year attorney), to join his firm, and Scott Gilmore Thompson PLLC was born. In their first year of existence, SGT tried seven cases, with seven amazing wins.
Matt has been Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2002. Matt has tried more than 20 employment cases in the past decade, and he is listed as counsel of record in more than 90 published opinions. He has had more than 40 authored papers and/or speaking engagements.
Matt is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the prestigious Texas Bar Foundation, and most recently, was elected as a member to the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been named a Texas Superlawyer more than 14 times, was named among the “Best Lawyers” by the Dallas Morning News in 2024, and he has been named as one of the best attorneys in labor and employment law in Dallas by D-Magazine more than five times. Matt was also named one of the top employment lawyers in the country in 2013.
In addition to his years of experience in employment law and his employment law trial experience, Matt has presided over more than 20 jury trials and 30 bench trials as the presiding judge of the Rockwall Municipal Court. Matt served as the Associate Judge for that court from 2019 to 2021, and he has served as the presiding judge over that court since 2021. Matt is also an experienced mediator and arbitrator.
Notable Successes
Obtained $210,000.00 award for former employee at arbitration in a race harassment case.
Obtained $680,000 jury verdict in a race discrimination and unlawful retaliation case.
Obtained motion for judgment as a matter of law for defendant in Fair Labor Standards Act case.
Obtained summary judgment for defendant in ERISA case, which was affirmed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Obtained summary judgment for defendant in disability discrimination case.
