Matthew C. Andrew

About

Matthew Andrew was born and raised in Arizona. However, his roots in Southern Idaho go back several generations. Shortly after graduating High School in Glendale, Arizona, Matthew's family returned to Idaho where he attended Ricks College and Brigham Young University - Idaho. He attended law school at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. After his first year at Creighton, Matthew was accepted into Officer Candidate School for the United States Marine Corps. After a grueling 10 week screening and evaluation process in Quantico, Virginia, Matthew was commissioned a Marine Second Lieutenant. Matthew returned to law school and was a member of the Mock Trial team as well as a student in the Creighton Legal Clinic. Prior to graduation, Matthew litigated and tried several civil cases as a law student involving fraudulent real estate transactions, landlord tenant disputes, as well as protection orders and divorce. Matthew graduated law school and was admitted to the Idaho Bar in 2007. He worked briefly for Skaug Law before reporting to The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia where he completed his basic officer training as a Marine Officer. He then reported to the Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island where he was a finalist in the mock trial and client counseling competitions. After completing his training, Matthew began his service a judge advocate at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was a prosecutor for a year before deploying with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines to combat in Afghanistan in 2009. While in Afghanistan, Matthew was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Moshtarak, the operation into the Taliban stronghold of Marjeh, Afghanistan and the largest coalition ground offensive in Afghanistan since the initial invasion in 2001. Matthew advised commanders and Marines on complex rules of engagement, the use of force, the legal expenditure of millions of dollars in development aid, as well as investigations involving misconduct, loss of gear and equipment, and ethics. Matthew returned from Afghanistan to prosecute cases in the military justice system in July 2010. He requested to deploy to Afghanistan again in 2011, this time for one year. Matthew was the sole Marine prosecutor for Marine commands in combat in Afghanistan during this time. Matthew litigated and tried involuntary manslaughter, rape, orders violations, and friendly fire cases while in Afghanistan in 2011. Matthew also tried and won the first contested General Court-martial any Marine command had tried within Afghanistan. In all, Matthew litigated and tried over 150 courts-martial cases while serving as a prosecutor in both the United States and Afghanistan. Matthew returned to Camp Lejeune in 2012 where he served as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate and Staff Judge Advocate for 2d Marine Logistics Group. During this time he advised several generals and commanding officers on dozens of military justice cases ranging from simple drug and military offenses, to complex rape and attempted murder crimes. He was the primary advisor on administrative law, ethics, and investigations for an organization with over 10,000 personnel. Matthew finished his active duty service as a Marine Corps Captain and received several personal awards during his five year active duty service as a judge advocate. He maintains his connection to the Marine Corps and currently serves in the Marine Corps Reserve. Matthew returned to Skaug Law in March 2013 where he focuses on personal injury and workers' compensation litigation. Family Matthew is married to the former Rachel Christian of St. George, Utah. They have a daughter.