Matthew B. Hanson

• - Companies, corporate executives, and senior government officials in congressional oversight investigations before House and Senate committees on a wide range of issues, including competition laws, online content moderation, national security, criminal and civil investigations, data privacy, cybersecurity, digital assets, and federal drug enforcement
• - Companies and individuals before the SEC, DOJ, and state attorneys general in both discrete non-public matters, as well as high-profile parallel investigations
• - Multiple blockchain-related start-ups and established companies in connection with SEC document and information requests
• - Companies conducting internal reviews to assess their risk of liability and implement proactive remediation to help avoid costly government investigations

Congressional Investigations

• - Global technology company before House and Senate Judiciary Committees in investigations of competition issues relating to “Big Tech”
• - Global technology company in responding to House January 6th Select Committee
• - Financial services firms in government inquiries arising out of multiple large-scale cybersecurity incidents, including before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
• - Senior DOJ officials in multiple transcribed witness interviews in connection with investigations by House and Senate committees
• - Prepared many senior DOJ officials for public hearing testimony before a variety of congressional committees, including: the Attorney General; multiple senior FBI officials; multiple senior officials from DOJ’s National Security Division; multiple senior officials from DOJ’s Criminal Division; Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Director of the U.S. Marshals Service; Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Director of DOJ’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force; and the acting head of DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs
• - Responded to hundreds of congressional request letters to DOJ on a wide range of issues, including national security, criminal and civil investigations, data privacy, cybersecurity, digital assets, and federal drug enforcement
• - DOJ subject matter experts in dozens of substantive briefings (in both classified and unclassified settings) to members of Congress and senior staff of various committees, including the House Select Committee on the CCP

Securities and White-Collar Investigations

• - Publicly traded healthcare company in an SEC investigation of possible accounting fraud
• - Turnkey asset management platform in multiple SEC investigations of leveraged ETF trades and separate allegations by former employees
• - Multinational financial institution in a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force investigation relating to residential mortgage-backed securities disclosures
• - Conducted internal investigation for government-owned energy company regarding compliance with anti-bribery laws
• - Advised Japanese affiliate of big-four international audit firm on U.S. auditor independence rules
• - Broker-dealer in parallel SEC and FINRA investigations of possible layering and spoofing trades
• - Global technology company before state attorneys general investigating content moderation issues
• - Telecommunications company in state attorney general False Claims Act investigation
• - Variety of other clients in responding to the SEC on issues including investigative testimony, post-merger insider trading questions, revolving-door ethics rules, and third-party witness testimony in SEC litigation

Digital Assets and Emerging Technology

• - Digital asset fund manager in connection with an SEC enforcement inquiry and as a witness in a separate SEC investigation
• - Served as acting general counsel for client during transition of in-house legal function
• - Provided guidance to start-up ventures on potential regulatory and enforcement risk

Matt Hanson defends companies and individuals in high-stakes congressional investigations, SEC enforcement actions, DOJ white-collar matters, and state attorney general inquiries. He leads internal investigations that surface risk early, guides clients through parallel regulatory inquiries, and prepares executives to testify. Clients in technology, financial services, digital assets, healthcare, energy, and other industries turn to Matt when the stakes are highest.

Matt is a go-to advisor when a congressional committee, the SEC, the DOJ, or a state regulator comes calling—sometimes all at once. He helps clients respond to high-pressure House and Senate inquiries, from large-scale oversight investigations to the low-key initial requests that can quickly escalate, and he prepares senior executives to testify confidently in public hearings and transcribed interviews.

Much of Matt's work happens before the government ever gets involved. He leads internal investigations that help companies assess their exposure, remediate problems proactively, and avoid costly enforcement actions down the road. When matters do surface, he guides clients through the disclosure, compliance, and regulatory questions that follow.

Because high-profile investigations rarely stay in one lane, Matt is well-versed in managing parallel proceedings across multiple regulators at the same time. He represents public companies, digital platforms, emerging technology and digital asset companies, broker-dealers, investment advisers, and financial institutions, as well as the corporate officers and individuals caught up in these matters.

Having handled sensitive congressional investigations from inside the Department of Justice and prepared its most senior leaders for testimony and dozens of public hearings, Matt knows how investigators think and what drives their decisions—insights that shape the practical, strategic counsel he gives clients today. And as a former journalist, Matt understands that an investigation is rarely just a legal problem. He helps clients manage the broader business and reputational impact that these matters can carry.