Vanessa L. Chen - McGuireWoods

Vanessa brings a wealth of experience to our Government Investigations and White Collar department, having the unique experience of serving in all three branches of the federal government: as a seasoned federal criminal trial attorney, policy and legal counsel on the Hill, and, most recently, as the Special Assistant to the President for Criminal Justice and Guns Policy in the Biden-Harris Administration’s White House Domestic Policy Council. In that capacity since 2021, she provided invaluable counsel to the President and senior White House officials on a wide range of sensitive and high-profile matters spanning the executive branch. Vanessa led policy formulation and implementation on the Biden Administration’s public safety, civil rights, and equity agenda, including policing, advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, drug policy, criminal justice, school safety, privacy, and procurement and supply chain resilience. To prevent and respond to crisis situations, Vanessa led multidisciplinary teams to formulate and deploy rapid and effective strategies that coordinated policy, legal, and communications efforts across the executive branch and in partnership with state and local officials.

Prior to joining the Biden Administration, Vanessa was an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Southern District of Florida for nearly nine years and was a recognized leader in her district and the national Federal Defender program due to her substantive experience, large-scale impact litigation, and policy acumen. Throughout her career, Vanessa has represented over 600 clients in complex cases, with charges including national security, economic (including payment and receipt of kickbacks and bribes; money laundering; structuring transactions; and securities, tax, health care, bank, wire, and mail fraud), environmental, racketeering, and civil rights offenses. As lead or co-counsel in 18 federal trials, Vanessa secured acquittals in 8 and mistrials due to hung juries in 2. She also has extensive experience and proven track record of success in arguing suppression hearings and other evidentiary and dispositive motions; negotiating deferred prosecution, cooperation, and immunity agreements to minimize exposure in federal, state, and local criminal cases and in parallel civil and regulatory proceedings; preparing clients for debriefs with law enforcement and regulatory officials, and testimony before the grand jury and at trial. Vanessa was one of eleven trial attorneys selected nationwide to serve on the Federal Defender Sentencing Guideline Committee to develop policy, legal, and strategic positions on federal sentencing guideline amendments, policy statements, and statutorily-mandated views to the U.S. Sentencing Commission on novel and complex federal issues.

In 2017, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers awarded its highest honor to Vanessa, who was the first solo female recipient of the award.

Vanessa also served as lead Democratic Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary’s Bipartisan Overcriminalization Task Force; Detailee Counsel to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security; and Senior Counsel to U.S. Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA03). In those roles, Vanessa led the drafting, negotiation, and floor strategy for several major bipartisan bills; prepared Democratic Members and witnesses for committee markups as well as legislative and oversight hearings; and briefed Democratic leaders, members, and staff in both chambers.

Vanessa started her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of The District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the Honorable Roger W. Titus of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, and the Honorable Rosemary Barkett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Experience

In securities fraud trial with nearly $1 billion in losses, briefed and argued pretrial motions that excluded key prosecution evidence, and presented key defense witness at trial whose expert testimony rebutted the government’s assertion of client hedge fund manager’s knowledge and intent, helping to secure acquittal on all criminal charges despite earlier SEC civil judgment against client.*
In fraud and theft trial, secured acquittal on all charges despite testimony from multiple eyewitnesses identifying client, and client’s signature and photo on relevant documents because defense investigation identified the actual perpetrator and key government witnesses’ motives to lie.*
In high-profile national security case, secured (1) plea agreement with joint recommendation for 12 years’ imprisonment, an unprecedented downward variance at the time for such a case due to pretrial investigation and litigation revealing the FBI’s payments to its confidential source and the source’s misconduct and criminal activities during the period of client’s investigation and prosecution; and (2) the subsequent federal indictment of the FBI’s confidential source for fraud schemes that targeted Muslim Americans.*
In murder case, secured involuntary manslaughter plea for client initially charged with second-degree murder after successful pretrial motion strategy, thereby capping the maximum punishment at 8 years’ imprisonment instead of life.*
Presented oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, securing a concurrence adopting the client’s position that the Supreme Court should grant certiorari and reconsider its flawed precedent. A colleague relied upon this concurrence in a subsequent petition for certiorari for another client, and, subsequently, the Supreme Court received oral argument and issued an opinion on the identical issue.*
In firearm possession case, secured acquittal of firearm possession charge despite evidence of client’s DNA and fingerprints on the gun and eyewitness testimony from multiple ATF agents.*

*Prior to joining McGuireWoods LLP

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