Matt Theophilus

Matt Theophilus is a South Dakota native who grew up in Sioux Falls, graduating from Lincoln High School in 1987. He then attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, for two years of undergraduate study before transferring to and graduating from the University of South Dakota in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice. He completed law school at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, attaining his Juris Doctor degree in 1996, with a primary focus on criminal law.

After graduating from law school, Matt served as a Deputy State’s Attorney at the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office for 7 years.  While there he was named a Senior Supervising Deputy State’s Attorney, overseeing a newly-created Domestic Violence Unit and revamping the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence crimes. Matt also drafted legislation, including several statutes that became law in South Dakota. Based upon this experience, Matt was appointed as a state- and nationwide training attorney for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the National Sheriff’s Agency, the National Center for Preventing Abuse in Later Life, the South Dakota Network Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and for the South Dakota Law Enforcement Training Academy in Pierre, South Dakota. During his tenure, Matt trained law enforcement, victim advocates, judges, probation officers, and other justice system personnel across the county on a wide range of issues involving domestic violence, elder abuse, and sexual assault. After leaving the State’s Attorney’s Office, Matt served as the Executive Director of the Rape & Domestic Abuse Center for two years prior to entering private practice. Matt joined Tschetter & Adams as an associate attorney in 2020.

Matt specializes in the areas of criminal defense and family law. Licensed in state and federal court in South Dakota, his criminal law practice includes defending both misdemeanor and felony cases. Matt has extensive jury trial experience, including over 60 jury trials. He also handles a wide range of court appointments. His family law practice includes handling divorces, child custody, parenting time, and termination of parental rights and adoption cases. Matt is a member of the South Bar Association, the Second Circuit Bar Association, and the South Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 



Matt and his wife Rebecca are the proud parents of 6 children and 3 Golden Retrievers.