team-member

Tessa Muir

Grand Rapids, MI

N/A

Law Degree

Awards

Primary Practice Area

Litigation

Language

English

About

Former federal prosecutor and Army JAG lawyer. Now criminal defense attorney.Tessa K. Muir brings over a decade of experience as a former federal prosecutor and Army JAG attorney. As a federal prosecutor in the Western District of Michigan, she served as the lead attorney in over 150 criminal cases and Sixth Circuit appeals. She worked closely with and trained dozens of law enforcement agencies, including the Michigan State Police, FBI, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), police departments, and sheriffs’ offices. She earned commendations for her work as a trial attorney from the FBI, HSI, and the State Bar of Michigan. Since 2015, she has been selected by fellow attorneys and federal judges in the Western District of Michigan as an instructor at the Hillman Trial Advocacy Program — the district’s premier trial practice program.As an Army JAG attorney, Ms. Muir worked inside the military’s highest security prison, prosecuted military courts-martial, and advised servicemembers and commanders on Army disciplinary procedures and separation boards.Ms. Muir has also served as an in-house corporate attorney at a large international tech company, where she led discreet internal fraud investigations and defended the company against lawsuits worldwide.Ms. Muir’s combined expertise in federal and state courts, the Army justice system, federal prisons, and corporate America is unrivaled. CRIMINAL DEFENSEFrom the first stages of an investigation through the final stages of appeal, Ms. Muir knows from the inside out how the system works. As a criminal defense attorney, Ms. Muir uses her expertise as a former federal prosecutor to help her clients understand the investigative process, find weaknesses in the case, and build a strong defense.Ms. Muir specializes in:• Federal criminal cases nationwide;• Federal sentencing guidelines;• White collar crime (including tax evasion, bank fraud, and healthcare fraud);• Internal corporate fraud investigations;• Criminal sexual conduct (CSC) investigations;• Title IX college sex assault cases;• Juvenile offenses;• Violent crime and firearms offenses; and• Drug trafficking and drug possession cases.Ms. Muir is a persuasive courtroom advocate. She has succeeded at both the state and federal level in achieving the complete dismissal of cases after filing Fourth Amendment motions to challenge traffic stops, search warrants, and inventory searches. She has convinced prosecutors at both the state and federal level to agree with her position on motions ranging from reversing improper sentencing conditions to excluding evidence of other acts by the defendant at trial. She has persuaded prosecutors’ offices throughout Michigan not to charge clients under investigation for serious sex offenses. She used the government’s own expert witness to defeat a federal supervised release violation alleging illegal drug use. She succeeded in a motion to reverse a federal magistrate judge’s decision to deny bond to a client pending trial in a serious RICO conspiracy case. She achieved early release from a halfway house for a client suffering a mental breakdown. These are just some examples of the results she has been able to obtain for her clients.Ms. Muir’s clients routinely comment that she is responsive, empathetic, professional, and effective. Read Ms. Muir’s client reviews below. INVESTIGATIONS, ACCUSATIONS, AND WITNESSESMs. Muir regularly advises people who are being investigated, accused, or called as a witness in criminal cases. As a federal prosecutor and Army JAG attorney, she worked with hundreds of victims, witnesses, and defendants during criminal investigations. She knows the ins and outs of what to expect, how to prepare, and how to protect people facing these situations. TITLE IX COLLEGE SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES AND SERIOUS SCHOOL DISCIPLINETitle IX and other serious school disciplinary investigations follow an administrative process handled internally by the school, and the traditional courtroom rules do not apply. Sometimes people accused in these types of cases try to defend themselves, believing that their goodwill with the school, their community contributions, or other factors will make the case go away. On the contrary, internal school investigations can have life-altering results including expulsion, termination of employment, or criminal charges. Ms. Muir comes alongside her clients to help them better understand the process, mount a thorough defense, find weaknesses in the allegations, present expert witnesses, negotiate with the school, and convince the decision makers to resolve the case favorably.Ms. Muir has succeeded in convincing a university’s Title IX office to disqualify its full-time investigator for bias, which resulted in the replacement of the investigator and a finding of “not responsible” for the student accused of sexual assault. Ms. Muir also successfully negotiated on behalf of a school employee accused of improper contact with students, ultimately resulting in a finding of no impropriety and ensuring the investigation stayed out of the press.INTERNAL CORPORATE INVESTIGATIONSMs. Muir understands confidentiality, risk management, and mitigating public fallout for companies that suspect internal fraud or are under investigation. As former in-house corporate counsel to a large international tech company, Ms. Muir is a trusted corporate advisor, especially when confidentiality and privacy are of the utmost concern.CIVIL LITIGATIONClients turn to Ms. Muir’s trial skills for representation in civil matters on a range of topics, both on the plaintiff’s side and the defendant’s side. Ms. Muir leverages her skills in research, writing, negotiation, and litigation to help her clients avoid the upheaval of trial. If the case goes to trial, Ms. Muir’s litigation expertise serves her clients no matter the subject area of the case. On civil matters, Ms. Muir often partners with other civil attorneys in her network to ensure a comprehensive and specialized team approach in any particular case.

Practices Areas

Criminal Defense

Litigation

Juvenile Law

Military Law

White Collar Crime

Language

English

Contact

Springstead Bartish Borgula & Lynch60 Monroe Center St NW #500Grand Rapids, MI, 4950360 Monroe Center St NW #500Grand Rapids, MI, 49503

Office: N/A

Website: N/A

Reviews

anonymous
January 5, 2022

Our organization engaged Ms. Muir to conduct an investigation and report regarding a potentially very serious and sensitive matter. Ms. Muir completed the work in a very timely manner and submitted a very informative report with exhaustive interviews and support materials. Everyone appreciated the report and found it en pointe and accessible and critical to our understanding of the circumstances and issues the organization faced.

anonymous
November 12, 2021

Tessa worked with me step by step. Explaining the situation and what the expected outcome would be, before every meeting. She helped prepare me and asnwered all the questions I had. She was very helpful in the situation and helped get my charges dismissed.

A&D
November 12, 2021

Thank goodness we found Tessa Muir. We know from past experience of family involvement in the Muskegon County justice system the outcome would have been devastating to our family, so we knew that we had to look outside of Muskegon to hire an attorney. We spoke with an attorney in Muskegon and all they wanted to do was try and get a lesser charge, but once we found and spoke with Tessa, we were feeling much more like we had found someone to actually fight for our side. And fight she did — not just a lesser charge, but Tessa won a motion to keep evidence of other acts out of the jury trial, and then Tessa fought for and the judge granted our motion for a directed verdict of ACQUITTAL following the government’s case. Tessa had great communication skills. Tessa put hours into research that no other lawyers even attempted. It took a great deal of perseverance and commitment. She always took time with us and returned our phone calls to answer our questions We now know who our lawyer is.

anonymous
August 15, 2021

I cannot say enough about Tessa and her staff! Let me first tell you she overturned the condition of my sentence! From the first phone call she was precise and to the point. She kept me informed on each step and what was likely to happen next. (she called, texted and emailed me) When she wasn't available her staff would reach out to update me as well. I personally never had to step into a court room once. Tessa and her staff are definitely up for any kind of challenge. She was dedicated to my case and fought diligently for me. It took longer than expected, but Covid didn't stop her. I would highly recommend Tessa to everyone who is looking for an attorney that puts her heart into her work.

Tiarra
August 12, 2021

Very Professional, helpful, Determined, upfront honest and caring, never missed a phone call or text. Anything that needed to be done was done highly recommended and blessed to have had her.

Tim
May 25, 2021

Tessa is wonderful! She is caring, dedicated, thoughtful, a fighter, committed to doing what is right and doing all she can to help!! We are extremely grateful for her help on a matter that she successfully defended. So thankful!! We highly recommend her!

anonymous
March 25, 2021

Tessa did an outstanding job handling a very time sensitive situation. She was courteous, professional, and very authentic in her approach. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for an attorney that is honest and will get the job done.

David
February 22, 2021

I had a situation where a punishment was thrown at me without due process. I hired Tessa and what an awesome job she done not only researching, preparing, and filling the Motion, that motion 6500 motion was a great success in winning my case. I highly recommend to anyone, hire Tessa!!!

Justin
January 25, 2021

I hired Tessa Muir in a case where I was looking at some serious trouble. Tessa ended up getting the case dismissed after arguing in front of the judge and cross examining the police officer that pulled me over. It was found to be an illegal stop which is rare to be granted. Tessa's intelligence and professionalism were unmatched while going through the proceedings. I highly recommend hiring Tessa for anything that you may be going through. I went through two other attorneys before I hired her, both of which said I had no case and that I would lose if I took it to trial, she got it dismissed the first time we went in front of the judge. She took personal interest in my case which made my family and I feel very comfortable as she explained everything very well to ensure we understood what was going on. She welcomed any questions or concerns that I had and was happy to hear them and take them very seriously. She stayed in constant communication with me to ensure I was up to date on everything that was going on as well. She researched in awsome detail every part of my case, including the police officers background, work history, attendance ect. She worked extremely hard on my case and was incredibly prepared!! My wife also had to take the stand and Tessa made her feel comfortable through the whole process. She took the prosecutor head on and was extremely protective over my wife while she was on the stand, very impessive!! Tessa definitely gets five stars from me and I would hire her again in a second!!

anonymous
November 17, 2020

I retained Ms. Muir after I was informed I was under investigation for a criminal sexual assault matter. The offense carried a sentence of up to life in prison. As Ms. Muir and I met to discuss this allegation, she made contact with the investigative agency. Ms. Muir and her staff took the information I provided and conducted their own investigation. Based up their findings, she was able to put a report together and submit it to the police rather than having me meet with the detectives. The detective submitted his witness interviews to the prosecuting officials along with our report. Based upon a review of all the materials, the prosecutor’s office declined to issue charges. This was a great relief to have this matter closed without charges. I am very thankful to Ms. Muir for her efforts. I would recommend her to anyone needing legal counsel.

anonymous
January 5, 2022

Our organization engaged Ms. Muir to conduct an investigation and report regarding a potentially very serious and sensitive matter. Ms. Muir completed the work in a very timely manner and submitted a very informative report with exhaustive interviews and support materials. Everyone appreciated the report and found it en pointe and accessible and critical to our understanding of the circumstances and issues the organization faced.

anonymous
November 12, 2021

Tessa worked with me step by step. Explaining the situation and what the expected outcome would be, before every meeting. She helped prepare me and asnwered all the questions I had. She was very helpful in the situation and helped get my charges dismissed.

A&D
November 12, 2021

Thank goodness we found Tessa Muir. We know from past experience of family involvement in the Muskegon County justice system the outcome would have been devastating to our family, so we knew that we had to look outside of Muskegon to hire an attorney. We spoke with an attorney in Muskegon and all they wanted to do was try and get a lesser charge, but once we found and spoke with Tessa, we were feeling much more like we had found someone to actually fight for our side. And fight she did — not just a lesser charge, but Tessa won a motion to keep evidence of other acts out of the jury trial, and then Tessa fought for and the judge granted our motion for a directed verdict of ACQUITTAL following the government’s case. Tessa had great communication skills. Tessa put hours into research that no other lawyers even attempted. It took a great deal of perseverance and commitment. She always took time with us and returned our phone calls to answer our questions We now know who our lawyer is.

anonymous
August 15, 2021

I cannot say enough about Tessa and her staff! Let me first tell you she overturned the condition of my sentence! From the first phone call she was precise and to the point. She kept me informed on each step and what was likely to happen next. (she called, texted and emailed me) When she wasn't available her staff would reach out to update me as well. I personally never had to step into a court room once. Tessa and her staff are definitely up for any kind of challenge. She was dedicated to my case and fought diligently for me. It took longer than expected, but Covid didn't stop her. I would highly recommend Tessa to everyone who is looking for an attorney that puts her heart into her work.

Tiarra
August 12, 2021

Very Professional, helpful, Determined, upfront honest and caring, never missed a phone call or text. Anything that needed to be done was done highly recommended and blessed to have had her.

Tim
May 25, 2021

Tessa is wonderful! She is caring, dedicated, thoughtful, a fighter, committed to doing what is right and doing all she can to help!! We are extremely grateful for her help on a matter that she successfully defended. So thankful!! We highly recommend her!

anonymous
March 25, 2021

Tessa did an outstanding job handling a very time sensitive situation. She was courteous, professional, and very authentic in her approach. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for an attorney that is honest and will get the job done.

David
February 22, 2021

I had a situation where a punishment was thrown at me without due process. I hired Tessa and what an awesome job she done not only researching, preparing, and filling the Motion, that motion 6500 motion was a great success in winning my case. I highly recommend to anyone, hire Tessa!!!

Justin
January 25, 2021

I hired Tessa Muir in a case where I was looking at some serious trouble. Tessa ended up getting the case dismissed after arguing in front of the judge and cross examining the police officer that pulled me over. It was found to be an illegal stop which is rare to be granted. Tessa's intelligence and professionalism were unmatched while going through the proceedings. I highly recommend hiring Tessa for anything that you may be going through. I went through two other attorneys before I hired her, both of which said I had no case and that I would lose if I took it to trial, she got it dismissed the first time we went in front of the judge. She took personal interest in my case which made my family and I feel very comfortable as she explained everything very well to ensure we understood what was going on. She welcomed any questions or concerns that I had and was happy to hear them and take them very seriously. She stayed in constant communication with me to ensure I was up to date on everything that was going on as well. She researched in awsome detail every part of my case, including the police officers background, work history, attendance ect. She worked extremely hard on my case and was incredibly prepared!! My wife also had to take the stand and Tessa made her feel comfortable through the whole process. She took the prosecutor head on and was extremely protective over my wife while she was on the stand, very impessive!! Tessa definitely gets five stars from me and I would hire her again in a second!!

anonymous
November 17, 2020

I retained Ms. Muir after I was informed I was under investigation for a criminal sexual assault matter. The offense carried a sentence of up to life in prison. As Ms. Muir and I met to discuss this allegation, she made contact with the investigative agency. Ms. Muir and her staff took the information I provided and conducted their own investigation. Based up their findings, she was able to put a report together and submit it to the police rather than having me meet with the detectives. The detective submitted his witness interviews to the prosecuting officials along with our report. Based upon a review of all the materials, the prosecutor’s office declined to issue charges. This was a great relief to have this matter closed without charges. I am very thankful to Ms. Muir for her efforts. I would recommend her to anyone needing legal counsel.

anonymous
January 5, 2022

Our organization engaged Ms. Muir to conduct an investigation and report regarding a potentially very serious and sensitive matter. Ms. Muir completed the work in a very timely manner and submitted a very informative report with exhaustive interviews and support materials. Everyone appreciated the report and found it en pointe and accessible and critical to our understanding of the circumstances and issues the organization faced.

anonymous
November 12, 2021

Tessa worked with me step by step. Explaining the situation and what the expected outcome would be, before every meeting. She helped prepare me and asnwered all the questions I had. She was very helpful in the situation and helped get my charges dismissed.

A&D
November 12, 2021

Thank goodness we found Tessa Muir. We know from past experience of family involvement in the Muskegon County justice system the outcome would have been devastating to our family, so we knew that we had to look outside of Muskegon to hire an attorney. We spoke with an attorney in Muskegon and all they wanted to do was try and get a lesser charge, but once we found and spoke with Tessa, we were feeling much more like we had found someone to actually fight for our side. And fight she did — not just a lesser charge, but Tessa won a motion to keep evidence of other acts out of the jury trial, and then Tessa fought for and the judge granted our motion for a directed verdict of ACQUITTAL following the government’s case. Tessa had great communication skills. Tessa put hours into research that no other lawyers even attempted. It took a great deal of perseverance and commitment. She always took time with us and returned our phone calls to answer our questions We now know who our lawyer is.

anonymous
August 15, 2021

I cannot say enough about Tessa and her staff! Let me first tell you she overturned the condition of my sentence! From the first phone call she was precise and to the point. She kept me informed on each step and what was likely to happen next. (she called, texted and emailed me) When she wasn't available her staff would reach out to update me as well. I personally never had to step into a court room once. Tessa and her staff are definitely up for any kind of challenge. She was dedicated to my case and fought diligently for me. It took longer than expected, but Covid didn't stop her. I would highly recommend Tessa to everyone who is looking for an attorney that puts her heart into her work.

Tiarra
August 12, 2021

Very Professional, helpful, Determined, upfront honest and caring, never missed a phone call or text. Anything that needed to be done was done highly recommended and blessed to have had her.

Tim
May 25, 2021

Tessa is wonderful! She is caring, dedicated, thoughtful, a fighter, committed to doing what is right and doing all she can to help!! We are extremely grateful for her help on a matter that she successfully defended. So thankful!! We highly recommend her!

anonymous
March 25, 2021

Tessa did an outstanding job handling a very time sensitive situation. She was courteous, professional, and very authentic in her approach. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for an attorney that is honest and will get the job done.

David
February 22, 2021

I had a situation where a punishment was thrown at me without due process. I hired Tessa and what an awesome job she done not only researching, preparing, and filling the Motion, that motion 6500 motion was a great success in winning my case. I highly recommend to anyone, hire Tessa!!!

Justin
January 25, 2021

I hired Tessa Muir in a case where I was looking at some serious trouble. Tessa ended up getting the case dismissed after arguing in front of the judge and cross examining the police officer that pulled me over. It was found to be an illegal stop which is rare to be granted. Tessa's intelligence and professionalism were unmatched while going through the proceedings. I highly recommend hiring Tessa for anything that you may be going through. I went through two other attorneys before I hired her, both of which said I had no case and that I would lose if I took it to trial, she got it dismissed the first time we went in front of the judge. She took personal interest in my case which made my family and I feel very comfortable as she explained everything very well to ensure we understood what was going on. She welcomed any questions or concerns that I had and was happy to hear them and take them very seriously. She stayed in constant communication with me to ensure I was up to date on everything that was going on as well. She researched in awsome detail every part of my case, including the police officers background, work history, attendance ect. She worked extremely hard on my case and was incredibly prepared!! My wife also had to take the stand and Tessa made her feel comfortable through the whole process. She took the prosecutor head on and was extremely protective over my wife while she was on the stand, very impessive!! Tessa definitely gets five stars from me and I would hire her again in a second!!

anonymous
November 17, 2020

I retained Ms. Muir after I was informed I was under investigation for a criminal sexual assault matter. The offense carried a sentence of up to life in prison. As Ms. Muir and I met to discuss this allegation, she made contact with the investigative agency. Ms. Muir and her staff took the information I provided and conducted their own investigation. Based up their findings, she was able to put a report together and submit it to the police rather than having me meet with the detectives. The detective submitted his witness interviews to the prosecuting officials along with our report. Based upon a review of all the materials, the prosecutor’s office declined to issue charges. This was a great relief to have this matter closed without charges. I am very thankful to Ms. Muir for her efforts. I would recommend her to anyone needing legal counsel.