A lawyer at Troutman Pepper Locke sued the law firm in federal court in New Jersey on Tuesday, alleging it pushed him off the partner track after he suffered a heart attack and retaliated against him for blowing the whistle on allegedly fraudulent billing practices.
Matthew Cali, an associate in the U.S. firm's Princeton, New Jersey, office, said Troutman Pepper violated state and federal employment law by discriminating against him after he suffered a heart attack in the office in 2023 that nearly killed him.
“Mr. Cali worked himself to literal near death for Troutman, suffering a heart attack while working at the office," his lawyer Michael Willemin of law firm Wigdor said in a statement. "Rather than support Mr. Cali, who was on track to make partner before his heart attack, Troutman derailed his career and further retaliated against him after he reported that the firm was committing billing fraud.”
Troutman Pepper said in a statement that it denies the allegations and will "vigorously defend against the claims.”
The lawsuit alleges that a partner and practice leader at Troutman Pepper told Cali that "the goalposts to make partner" were moved after he suffered his heart attack while working late and alone in the Princeton office.
After he returned from medical leave, Cali alleged he was denied opportunities to work on substantive matters and advance his career, and was denied a bonus despite hitting his billable hours target in 2024.
Cali also claims that he uncovered a "systematic scheme of fraudulent billing" involving an unnamed litigation client and its insurer, Beazley Insurance.
Troutman Pepper partners "billed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to the client and its insurer for work that was fabricated, unnecessary or entirely unrelated to the litigation at hand," the lawsuit said.
A spokesperson for Beazley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cali alleged the firm tried to get him to leave voluntarily but he did not accept a "transition package" he was offered in May. He said the cumulative effects of the firm's actions was "the complete derailment" of his partnership trajectory and "the destruction of his professional standing at the firm."
The case is Cali v. Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, No. 3:26-cv-10503.
For Cali: Daniel Altaras, Michael Willemin and Brooke Payton of Wigdor
For Troutman Pepper: Not yet available
