Nicole M. Matteo
Nicole M. Matteo is an associate in Pierce Atwood’s Litigation Practice Group, where she brings a sharp focus and strategic insight to a broad spectrum of business disputes.
With a particular emphasis on resolving complex conflicts within the health care sector, Nicole’s practice spans state and federal courts, administrative proceedings, and arbitration forums. Her legal acumen and dedication to advocacy have positioned her as a trusted advisor and litigator for clients navigating the intricate intersections of health care law and business litigation.
Nicole's extensive experience includes litigating high-stakes cases involving breach of contract, health care corporate governance and regulatory disputes, insurance coverage disputes, professional malpractice, UCC Article 2 claims, intellectual property issues related to medical technologies, and other complex commercial matters.
By leveraging her understanding of the health care industry, she delivers tailored advice to provider groups, hospitals, and health care organizations—guiding them through general business disputes, collaborative care partnerships, employment and HR issues, supply chain logistics, contract negotiations, governance and regulatory compliance challenges, and contentious coverage issues.
Her ability to blend legal expertise with a practical understanding of the operational and regulatory complexities of the health care industry ensures her clients are equipped to address critical legal challenges and maintain successful business operations.
- Included in Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” for Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants, and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs (2021-2022)
- Named a "Rising Star" for Business Litigation in Rhode Island by Super Lawyers (2020-present)
- Recent Developments in Admiralty Law, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal, Vol. 54, Issue 2 (Spring 2019)
- Comment, If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say, Say It Anyway: Libel Tourism & the SPEECH Act, 20 Roger WIlliams University Law Review 152 (2015)
- Workers’ Compensation, 2013 Survey of Rhode Island Law: Ellis v. Verizon New England, Inc., 19 Roger Williams University Law Review 998 (2014)
Practice Areas
Nicole’s robust track record includes notable successes across a variety of high-profile cases, such as:
- Representing a dedicated group, including medical providers, in a matter involving health care governance issues and miscellaneous disputes with a Rhode Island hospital.
- Obtained dismissal of a wrongful death and breach of Medicare contract dispute at the initial pleading stage.
- Successfully resolved a multimillion-dollar dispute involving hundreds of claims submitted by a Rhode Island hospital to a health insurer.
- Served on the trial team to recover a $6.5 million jury verdict in an intellectual property case involving a former employee using proprietary information to develop a competing medical diagnostic device.
- Obtained dismissal of multiple indicated findings by an administrative agency against the employees of a quasi-health care provider.
- Defended a legal malpractice action in arbitration that stemmed from a medical product liability case.
- Achieved a favorable arbitration outcome in a fee dispute between attorneys representing a shared client in a medical product liability case, including successful confirmation of the award and upholding of award on appeal.
- Successfully kept a legal malpractice action in arbitration over nearly half a dozen attempts to contest arbitrability.
- Obtained summary judgment on a novel comparative fault defense in an accounting malpractice action pending in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
- Successfully defended a motion to dismiss a First Amendment case involving commercial speech pending in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.