Judge Chen started her career at the law firm of Arnold & Porter from 1986 to 1989 and then at the criminal defense law firm of Asbill, Junkin, Myers & Buffone from 1989 to 1991, both law firms located in Washington, D.C. From 1991 to 1998, she was a trial attorney in the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice. Beginning in 1998, she served as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York, when she served as deputy commissioner for enforcement for the New York State Division of Human Rights. During her service in the United States Attorney's office, she held many supervisory positions, including chief of the civil rights section and deputy chief of the public integrity section. In 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Chen to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On March 4, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed Chen's nomination, and she received her commission on March 5, 2013. Judge Chen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.