Matthew (Matt) Madden is a first-chair trial lawyer who has tried more than 25 federal criminal trials. The former chief of the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office (USAO) in Chicago, he leverages his more than 15 years with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) when handling white-collar and regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, compliance matters and complex civil litigation for clients.
Matt is the Chicago lead of McDermott’s Litigation Practice Group and co-lead of the criminal investigations and prosecutions practice. He regularly represents executives, physicians, health systems, and companies in civil and criminal government investigations, including matters before and litigation against, DOJ, the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among other agencies. Matt leads sensitive internal investigations and responds to government inquiries across a broad array of subject matters and areas of law, with a particular focus on matters involving accounting, antitrust, the False Claims Act, insider trading, securities fraud, healthcare fraud, bribery, and wire fraud.
Matt previously held numerous supervisory positions at the USAO, including criminal chief, chief of general crimes, and deputy chief of financial crimes. As criminal chief, he led approximately 125 assistant US attorneys in the Criminal Division, supervised the USAO’s most complex, high-profile investigations, and oversaw the implementation and development of the USAO’s policies.
During his tenure as a federal prosecutor, Matt was regarded as one of the top trial lawyers at the USAO. He recently led the successful 11-week trial against the former senior executives of Outcome Health for a $1 billion corporate, bank, and investor fraud scheme in a case that Crain’s Chicago Business called “one of the most high-profile and lengthy white-collar cases in Chicago history” and “a high-profile victory for the federal prosecutors in a complex and messy case that was largely circumstantial.” During another year, Matt tried eight cases, seven as first chair. He is also a seasoned appellate lawyer, having handled more than 15 appeals before the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, with 10 oral arguments.
Matt has led and supervised dozens of trials and hundreds of investigations involving nearly every type of federal criminal offense, including securities fraud, healthcare fraud, insider trading, money laundering, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act offenses, cybercrimes, bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, and terrorism. He worked closely with DOJ Criminal Division components, including the Fraud Section, and conducted numerous grand jury investigations that involved parallel securities fraud investigations by the SEC. Matt’s extensive experience and deep government ties are instrumental to advising clients facing government enforcement matters.
Before joining the USAO, Matt was an associate at McDermott and clerked for Judge Larry J. McKinney of the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and Judge William J. Bauer of the Seventh Circuit. In addition to his legal practice, he is guest faculty for trial advocacy at the University of Chicago Law School and has served in other faculty positions at law schools and the DOJ National Advocacy Center throughout his career.
