By a Staff Writer -August 29, 20190

President Donald J. Trump announced Aug. 28, the names of a number of individuals he intends to nominate for federal judgeships, among them an Indian-American who was a former prosecutor.

Shireen Matthews of California is being nominated by the President  to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Matthews, a magna cum laude graduate of Georgetown University with a J.D. cum laudefrom Duke University School of Law, is currently a partner at Jones Day in San Diego, California.

Prior to joining the firm, Matthews served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California from July 2008 to September 2013,  according to her profile on LinkedIn.

Before entering government service, she was an associate with Latham & Watkins LLP in San Diego. 

After graduating from law school, Matthews served as a law clerk for Judge Irma E. Gonzalez of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

In her practice at Jones Day, Matthews says she “helps companies conduct internal investigations and build, enhance, and maintain effective corporate compliance programs.” She regularly defends clients before a range of government agencies including the Department of Justice, Health and Human Services-OIG, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Defense.

She worked on a wide variety of white-collar criminal cases involving allegations of bribery of public officials, defense contractor fraud, false claims, and health care fraud.

At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Matthews served as the Criminal Health Care Fraud Coordinator prosecuting violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, criminal false claims, and aggravated identity theft.

Her success stories include uncovering a multimillion dollar fraud involving stolen medical equipment from Camp Pendleton, a health care fraud investigation of a hospital CEO, prosecution of wide-ranging contract fraud by a San Diego-based biotech firm, and obtaining one of the largest individual restitution awards for the Social Security trust fund, she says on LinkedIn.

She also has broad criminal trial experience and has successfully briefed and argued several cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, she added.

She serves as the co-chair of the Lawyer Representatives for the Southern District of California and is on the Board of Directors for the San Diego Chapter of the South Asian Bar Association. She also serves  on Jones Day’s firm-wide Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement Committee, and is actively involved in the firm’s pro bono initiative to provide legal assistance to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.