Matthew S. Chester

For this attorney's full bio, please go to bakerdonelson.com/matthew-s-chester.

Matt Chester brings more than 20 years of practicing law in the private sector and at the Department of Justice to his role as chair of Baker Donelson's Government Enforcement and Investigations Group, and as a member of the Firm's board of directors.

In more than 20 years of practicing law in the private sector and at the Department of Justice, Matt has handled dozens of arguments, hearings, and trials in state and federal court, achieving successful results on behalf of his clients.

In his decade at Baker Donelson, Matt has represented individuals and corporations in connection with a myriad of civil, criminal, and regulatory proceedings, as well as counseled clients on internal investigations. Among many other things, Matt has a wide-ranging criminal practice, representing individuals and corporate entities in matters involving criminal allegations of public corruption, fraud, health care violations, export control violations, environmental violations, immigration violations, and espionage. As an example of one of Matt's criminal matters, he represented a former public official in connection with malfeasance charges; after nearly four years of litigation, the case was recently dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct.

Matt also has a diverse civil practice. He represents individuals and corporations in False Claims Act (FCA)/Qui Tam cases against both governmental trial attorneys and a myriad of commercial litigation disputes including tort matters, business disputes, breach of contract litigation, and products liability lawsuits. As an example of his civil work, Matt prosecuted a civil lawsuit, acting as a plaintiff, for fraud against an individual, ultimately obtaining a judgment of nearly $1 million. Additionally, as part of his civil practice, Matt acts as one of two primary Firm coordinating attorneys for a Fortune 20 company for its civil litigation needs across Baker Donelson's footprint.

During his time at Baker Donelson, Matt has additionally assisted and counseled entities with a wide variety of other legal, investigatory, and litigation needs. For example, Matt has conducted internal investigations for publicly traded, Fortune 500 companies facing allegations of corporate wrongdoing. As another example, Matt was engaged to represent a federal district court's clerk's office in connection with a number of challenges associated with the jury selection processes utilized by that clerk's office. Matt's work resulted in a comprehensive brief and report that was adopted by numerous federal district court judges in connection with those jury selection challenges, who ultimately rejected such challenges – in rulings that were affirmed by the applicable federal appellate court.

Prior to joining Baker Donelson, Matt worked at the Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in New Orleans, Louisiana. As an AUSA, Matt was a member of the Financial Fraud and Public Integrity units in the U.S. Attorney's office and was promoted to the position of Deputy Supervisor of the Public Integrity group. He spent most of his time as a federal prosecutor focusing on white collar crime, fraud, and public/official corruption prosecutions. Matt's experience includes multiple high-profile trials and convictions obtained against former elected and public officials.

During those years as a federal prosecutor, Matt was honored as the recipient of multiple awards, including five Excellence in Law Enforcement Awards from the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission for his work on public corruption prosecutions in and around New Orleans, as well as awards from the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. Most notably, Matt was awarded the Department of Justice's Award for Superior Performance in Litigation in 2015 for his work in connection with a high-profile public corruption prosecution in New Orleans.

Before serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney, Matt practiced at an international law firm based in Dallas, Texas, where he handled numerous matters involving federal securities, financial class actions, complex civil litigation, white collar criminal matters, and corporate compliance.