Matthew Schneider

Matthew Schneider is a former United States Attorney who focuses on crisis management, investigations, and high-profile, high-stakes litigation. He has over 25 years of experience working in state and federal government and law enforcement. He represents clients in federal and state courts, in internal investigations, and in investigations and inquires conducted by the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Throughout his career, he has maintained strong relationships in the fields of law, policy, politics, energy, agriculture, and business, as well as with industry, government leaders, and judges.

Mr. Schneider’s background enables him to provide effective counsel to clients in a broad range of practice areas such as allegations of illegal or unethical behavior, state or federal law enforcement investigations, or State Attorney General investigations, including allegations of price gouging, Consumer Protection Act violations, failure to timely report data breaches, antitrust issues, and licensing or regulatory violations. He frequently counsels companies and people who are victims of crime. 

With his in-depth knowledge of criminal statutes, Mr. Schneider can help clients navigate Grand Jury investigations, embezzlement claims, False Claims Act allegations, and fraud charges, as well as pandemic-related crimes such as CARES Act fraud, Unemployment Insurance fraud, and fraud arising out of the Paycheck Protection Program. 

Matthew has been recognized by Chambers USA 2023 as a leader in the field of Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.

Prior to joining Honigman, Mr. Schneider served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. As the chief federal law enforcement officer in 34 counties, he supervised and directed all federal litigation within the District and directly interacted with all 21 federal judges in Detroit, Flint, Bay City, Ann Arbor, and Port Huron. The office is widely recognized for significant prosecutions involving international terrorism, violent crime, public corruption, environmental crime, financial fraud, drug trafficking, civil rights and numerous other criminal and civil matters.

Mr. Schneider also served as Michigan's Chief Deputy Attorney General, overseeing the office's 40,000 ongoing criminal and civil cases. Additionally, he was the Chief Legal Counsel for the Michigan Office of Attorney General, where he was the lead counsel representing the Governor and the State of Michigan in the City of Detroit federal bankruptcy case.

As the Michigan Supreme Court's Chief of Staff and General Counsel, Mr. Schneider provided overall direction for the administration of Michigan's Judicial Branch of government and served as chief legal counsel to the Chief Justice and the Justices.

Mr. Schneider is also a former federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice in Detroit and held the U.S. Government's highest security clearance, Top Secret S.C.I. During his 16 years as a prosecutor, he received numerous awards from state and federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI, the DEA, and the ATF.

Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, Mr. Schneider served on the legal staff of President George W. Bush as Senior Advisor and Assistant General Counsel in the White House Budget Office, where he helped to develop the President's major policy, budget, and legal initiatives.

Mr. Schneider previously practiced international law with the Washington, D.C. firm of Wiley Rein LLP, where he represented American companies in suits against foreign governments for unfair business and trade actions.

Practice Areas

Representative Matters

• Completed an investigation for a large public university’s Board of Trustees into whether the university satisfied its state law obligations to properly report the alleged sexual misconduct of university employees.  Honigman reviewed over 24,000 documents and interviewed 18 witnesses, including all eight trustees, the university president, and numerous current and former employees 
• Concluded an investigation for the president and Board of Trustees of a public research university regarding allegations of faculty and staff misconduct and sexual harassment related to an external public relations firm. Honigman interviewed 53 witness, including faculty, staff, employees, former students, and university officials, applying their analysis to the university’s obligations to follow state and federal laws and university policies
• Assisted multiple people in Congressional investigations and inquiries compelling their testimony before the U.S. Congress and federal Grand Juries
• Investigated workplace harassment and misconduct at multiple businesses
• Assisted law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of numerous bad actors who victimized clients in high-dollar financial fraud schemes
• Investigated computer intrusions and hacking for companies, banks, and people across the country
• Led review of employee thefts and embezzlements against companies and nonprofit charity groups
• Counseled and advised countless victims of crime in cases involving violence, harassment, and intimidation
• Assisted multiple college and high school students who were victims of stalking, bullying, and assault

Prior Experience

• United States Department of Justice, United States Attorney, Eastern District of Michigan, 2018-2021
• Michigan Department of Attorney General, Chief Deputy Attorney General, 2017; Chief Legal Counsel, 2013-2016
• Michigan Supreme Court, Chief of Staff and General Counsel, 2011-2013
• United States Department of Justice, Assistant United States Attorney, Detroit, 2003-2011
• Office of the President of the United States, Senior Advisor and Assistant General Counsel, Office of Management and Budget, 2002-2003
• Wiley, Rein & Fielding, LLP, Associate, 2000-2002
• Office of the Governor of Michigan, Public Events and Advance Coordinator, 1996-1997
• Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, New York City, Summer Associate, 2000

Academic Appointments

• Michigan State University College of Law, Adjunct Professor, Federal Investigation and Prosecution, 2012-2017
• Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Visiting Professor, Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, Advanced Criminal Procedure, 2007-2012

Education

Admissions

Awards

• Listed in Chambers USA, 2023-2024
  • Recognized in Band 1, the top tier, in Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations in Michigan; Chambers USA states: 
    • “For high-stakes white collar litigation or investigations, Matthew Schneider is the best in class.” “Matthew has broad experience and significant depth of knowledge in multiple criminal and regulatory matters.”
    • [Chair] of Honigman LLP's investigations and white-collar defense group Matthew Schneider has a wealth of experience assisting clients with [federal, state, and international and government] agency investigations. He has additional experience handling litigation and State Attorneys General investigations. "Matthew has a deep understanding of the law as well as the ability to provide plain-language explanations to clients in challenging situations."
• Named one of The National Law Journal’s 2021 Crisis Leadership Trailblazers

News

Press Releases

Events

Mr. Schneider is a frequent speaker to attorneys, general counsels and corporate leaders on topics such as:

• Federal investigation for white collar crimes
• Intellectual property theft and cybersecurity threats from overseas
• Benefits of reporting cyber attacks to law enforcement
• Federal investigations related to corporate and financial fraud
• Federal public corruption cases in Michigan

Alerts

Podcasts