Matthew Freeman
Matthew Freeman is an attorney at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP representing plaintiffs in personal injury and sexual abuse cases. Throughout his career, he has helped to recover more than $300 million in settlements and verdicts for his clients.
Mr. Freeman’s practice focuses on representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse against the Boy Scouts of America, the Catholic Church, as well as school districts, religious institutions, and medical facilities throughout California. He feels a deep passion for seeking justice for those who have not received full justice through the criminal justice system.
SOME OF MR. FREEMAN’S NOTABLE RESULTS IN SEXUAL ABUSE ACTIONS INCLUDE:
- $135,000,000 verdict in Riverside County against the Moreno Valley Unified School District for two men who were sexually abused as children by their 6th grade teacher.
- $5,000,000 settlement in Los Angeles County for a woman who was subjected to years of sexual abuse and nude photographs as a child by an individual defendant.
- $4,100,000 settlement in Los Angeles County for women abused by UCLA gynecologist, Dr. James Heaps.
- $3,000,000 settlement in Orange County for two men who were abused as children by their pastor.
- $2,100,000 settlement in Stanislaus County for a man who was abuse as a child by a pastor at his church.
- $1,500,000 settlement in Los Angeles County against the Pomona Unified School District for a woman as a child abused by her high school coach.
- $1,000,000 settlement in Kern County for a woman who was abused as a child by her youth pastor.
- $999,999 settlement in Los Angeles County for a woman who was abused as a child by her 4th grade teacher.
Prior to transitioning to sexual abuse cases, Mr. Freeman represented the victims and families of the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival Mass Shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following two years of negotiations, a historic settlement of $800 million was obtained by Plaintiffs’ 1 October Leadership Group. This was the first settlement in U.S. history for a mass shooting. As a result, Mr. Freeman was selected as a finalist for the 2021 Consumer Attorneys of California’s Consumer Attorney of the Year award.
In 2024, Mr. Freeman was honored to receive the F. Scott Baldwin Award from the American Association for Justice. Recipients of this distinguished award are selected by the AAJ to represent the most outstanding young lawyer in the country based on significant contributions to the AAJ’s New Lawyers Division and one or more outstanding trial verdicts.
Mr. Freeman earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee and his law degree from California Western School of Law. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Mr. Freeman is the American Association for Justice New Lawyers Division Publications Co-Chair and Consumer Attorneys of California New Lawyers Division Membership Chair. He is a member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the Consumer Attorneys of California, the American Association for Justice, and the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.