Matthew Carter

Matthew leverages his invaluable experience gained from serving as an Illinois Supreme Court law clerk, and his appointments as a Special Assistant Attorney General in Illinois and a Deputy Special Prosecutor in Cook County, in his complex trial and appellate litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and corporate internal investigations practice. Using his clerkship experience, Matthew has handled and argued several cases before the Supreme Court of Illinois and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and obtained key, precedent-setting decisions in favor of his clients in both courts.

Matthew has extensive trial experience, including stepping into major matters as they near trial. In October 2022, in a case he joined after discovery had closed, he helped secure a US$104.65M jury verdict for Versata Software, Inc. in a breach-of-contract and trade secret misappropriation case against Ford Motor Co. in Detroit, Michigan. Matthew examined the primary breach-of-contract witnesses and both sides’ damages experts. Ultimately, eight jurors unanimously sided with Versata on all three of its breach claims and three of its four trade secret claims, while also rejecting Ford’s breach-of-contract counterclaim. The victory earned the team a first runner-up spot in Am Law’s “Litigator of the Week” column. Following the verdict, Ford moved for judgment as a  matter of law. The district court denied Ford’s motion as to liability but overturned the jury’s damages findings. This matter is on appeal.

In January 2025, Matthew co-led a team that achieved a significant victory by securing the dismissal of US$300M in claims against the former board of managers of Verano Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Verano Holdings Corp., one of the nation’s largest publicly traded cannabis companies. This dismissal with prejudice in the Delaware Court of Chancery earned Matthew a mention in Am Law’s “Litigator of the Week” column.

Matthew has also prosecuted and defended companies and individuals in significant defamation matters throughout the country. Some disputes resolved before litigation began; others proceeded to trial. Matthew has deep experience in both settings. Notably, Matthew served as second chair in the defense of Fox News Network, LLC in its dispute with Dominion Voting Systems in Delaware Superior Court, a highly publicized matter that we resolved in court just minutes before opening statements. He also represented Northwestern University’s former head football coach Patrick Fitzgerald as the plaintiff in a defamation and breach-of-contract matter that we resolved to Coach Fitzgerald’s satisfaction at the close of fact discovery and just a few months short of trial. It too drew major media attention; after the matter settled, the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board described Fitzgerald’s legal team as “legal wildcats.”

Matthew’s investigative experience includes leading national and international corporate internal investigations for a range of private clients. He has handled investigations and litigation related to government and regulatory matters, including matters brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Attorneys General, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He has also represented clients facing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) charges and compliance challenges, conducting investigative work across multiple jurisdictions—including in Russia and India.

Matthew is currently serving a three-year term, by appointment, as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Illinois Evidence. This 14-member committee monitors, reviews, and studies Illinois Supreme Court decisions that impact evidence law generally and the Illinois Rules of Evidence specifically. Previously, he was appointed to the role of Special Assistant Attorney General to represent the Department of State Police of the State of Illinois. This representation resulted in a court order accomplishing the objective of the State Police—the maintenance of the confidentiality of its Firearm Owners Identification database. Matthew also served as a Deputy Special Prosecutor in Cook County, Illinois for an investigation that drew significant media attention. The inquiry involved interviews with 146 witnesses and a review of 300,000 documents, and it culminated in the publication of a 162-page report.

Matthew is also serving a three-year term (2025–2027) as a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference, an organization established “to consider the work of the courts, to suggest improvements in the administration of justice, and to make recommendations for the improvement of the courts.”