Baker Donelson has named Matthew S. Chester as chair of the Firm's Government Enforcement and Investigations Group.
A shareholder in Baker Donelson's New Orleans office, Mr. Chester has nearly 20 years of experience practicing law in the private sector and at the Department of Justice. In his practice at Baker Donelson, he has represented individuals and corporations in connection with a myriad of civil, criminal, and regulatory proceedings, as well as counseled clients on internal investigations. Mr. Chester's experience includes representing individuals in connection with criminal matters involving allegations of public corruption, fraud, health care violations, export control violations, environmental violations, immigration violations, and espionage. He has also conducted internal investigations for publicly-traded Fortune 500 companies involving alleged corporate wrongdoing, and he has both defended and prosecuted civil cases, including complex commercial litigation and fraud matters.
Before joining Baker Donelson, Mr. Chester worked at the Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in New Orleans, Louisiana. As an AUSA, he 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. His experience includes multiple high-profile trials and convictions obtained against former elected and public officials.
During his service as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Chester 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, he 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.
An honors graduate of Tulane University Law School, Mr. Chester is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® in Criminal Defense: White-Collar.
Baker Donelson's Government Enforcement and Investigations Group has more than 20 primary attorneys, including former assistant U.S. attorneys in multiple districts, a former FBI agent, appointed special attorneys general for several states, and many former state and federal prosecutors, along with more than 50 additional attorneys with experience in these areas. The group represents corporations, management and other individuals in connection with government investigations, enforcement actions, internal investigations and white collar criminal prosecutions.