Jon R. MuthMiller Johnson, Grand Rapids, USAAreas of Practice: Litigation - Personal Injury, Litigation - Professional Negligence or Liability, Arbitration & Mediation, Litigation, Litigation - Civil, Litigation - Commercial, Litigation - Corporate Commercial Contact Information:
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| Jon R. Muth is a Member of Miller Johnson and has been practicing law since 1971. His practice has been solely devoted to litigation of civil matters, especially in a variety of commercial subject areas. His has extensive experience in both the federal and state courts in Michigan and has represented clients in numerous other states and federal districts. In addition to appellate work in several states, he has argued appellate cases in the United States Sixth, Eighth and Tenth Circuits. Mr. Muth is a former President of the State Bar of Michigan and has received the Roberts P. Hudson Award, the State Bar's highest award for professional achievement and service to the profession. He possesses strong relationships with lawyers and judges throughout Michigan; indeed, a significant part of his practice is devoted to representing lawyers, law firms and judges in legal matters that impact them. For the past several years Mr. Muth has spent a sizeable portion of his professional time as a facilitative mediator and an arbitrator. He is certified as a mediator by both the federal and state courts in Michigan and has mediated several hundred civil disputes, including some of the most complex commercial disputes in Michigan. He is widely regarded as one of the best few mediators in the state. He has served as a faculty member at ICLE's Advanced Negotiation and Mediation Workshop and was invited by the Federal Judicial Center to serve on the panel for an instructional video program for federal judges. Mr. Muth is qualified as an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association and has served both in AAA and private arbitrations involving such issues as automobile supply contracts, franchise agreements, minority shareholder rights, real estate transactions, business valuations and law firm dissolutions. Mr. Muth's litigation experience has been remarkably varied, with different concentrations at different times throughout his career. He has successfully tried cases to juries and judges and arbitration panels. His expertise is not confined to any specific subject area; rather, he sees his expertise in the advocacy of complex issues in an understandable and persuasive manner. Examples of the cases he has handled as lead trial counsel follow. Commercial LitigationMr. Muth has represented parties in a wide variety of commercial disputes. The types of matters include: contract, construction, real estate, condominium law, trust and probate, creditors rights, ERISA, corporate shareholder disputes and minority oppression charges, shareholder derivative actions, class actions, oil and gas interests, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, insurance coverage, aircraft damage and insurance claims, accounting malpractice, business valuation, and tax. For one example of his breadth of experience, while Mr. Muth is not a specialist in intellectual property law, he represented a Fortune 500 company in federal court on a Lanham Act case against an even larger company, won a preliminary injunction and led negotiations that resulted in a settlement for our client having a value of at least $35,000,000. He is listed in "Best Lawyers in America®" in the area of commercial litigation and in Chambers USA as one of the top dozen commercial litigators in Michigan. Legal Liability and MalpracticeMr. Muth has represented both defendants and plaintiffs in legal malpractice cases. His interest in this area started with his service on the Ethics Committee of the State Bar. Since then he has successfully defended cases where seven figure damages were alleged and successfully obtained multi-million dollar resolutions for plaintiffs. He has served as an expert witness for both defendants and plaintiffs. He has been retained by a number of the largest law firms in the state to render advice on ethical issues and has been retained to do internal law firm investigations of possible violations. He represents lawyer clients in matters involving the Attorney Grievance Commission and the Attorney Discipline Board. He has lectured extensively on the subject of litigation ethics and serves as General Counsel to Miller Johnson. He is listed in "Best Lawyers in America®" in the area of legal malpractice law. Broker-Dealer Securities LitigationMr. Muth has represented investment advisors, broker-dealers and individual investors in disputes involving issues of suitability, churning, unauthorized trading and misrepresentation. Before the McMahon decision in 1986, which effectively removed these cases from federal court jurisdiction, he successfully tried several federal jury cases. Since 1986, the contest of these cases has moved to arbitration forum, where Mr. Muth has successfully represented our clients before NASD and NYSE arbitration panels. Environmental LitigationMr. Muth spent a decade of his career heavily involved in environmental litigation, largely involving Superfund sites in Michigan and Iowa. In addition to defending against liability for the firm's business clients, he has represented those clients in pursuing claims for insurance indemnity and for contribution from other responsible persons. In one major Superfund case he was successful in securing the dismissal of the client, the only one of the major generators to be successful in that regard. In a lawsuit for insurance coverage to help defray the costs of cleanup and defense, he achieved a settlement of several million dollars for our manufacturing client. He successfully defended at trial a corporate officer who was personally charged with tens of millions of dollars of environmental liability. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Muth has been asked on a number of occasions to conduct independent investigations and report his conclusions concerning potential claims in a variety of settings. Among other such assignments, he has investigated allegations of supplier fraud and employee self-dealing in a large school district, charges of financial misconduct in a private university, suspicions of ethical or criminal violations in a large law firm and allegations of director misfeasance and liability in a public banking organization. Professional Affiliations and ActivitiesMr. Muth is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and served as the President in 1994-1995. Prior to that, he held office as vice-president, treasurer and executive director in addition to being the chair of several committees. He was a Master with the American Inns of Court and is a member of the Federal Bar Association. He is a member of the American Bar Association including the litigation section and the environmental law section in addition to having been a member of the ABA's House of Delegates. He is a member of the Grand Rapids Bar Association and served as chair of the Pro Bono Committee. Mr. Muth is a founder of the Kent County Legal Assistance Center where he served as organizational chair and remains a Trustee. He is a Trustee of the Michigan State Bar Foundation. Presentations and ArticlesMr. Muth has been sought as a faculty member or seminar speaker by diverse professional organizations. Listed here is a sampling:5th Annual Advanced Negotiation & Dispute Resolution Institute, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, March 16, 2006Advanced Mediation Issues and Practice, Federal Bar Association, Western District of Michigan, November 16, 2004Mediation of Land Use Disputes, Annual Meeting of Michigan Society of Planners, October 1, 2004Litigation Boot Camp: Civility and Professionalism, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, June 2004Mediation and Case Management: Do's and Don'ts on the Way to Successful Mediations, Federal Judicial Center, Washington D.C., June 19, 2003Essentials of Civil Discovery and Depositions, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, February 6, 2003One View From the Trenches - Thoughts on Facilitative Mediation, November 15, 2000, United States District Court, Western District of Michigan, Mediator Education ProgramLiability for Environmental Cleanup, Association of Internal Auditors, February 1992Alternative Dispute Resolution, (Moderator), Federal Bar Association, Michigan Conference, November 1990Broker-Dealer Securities Litigation, Grand Rapids Bar Association, January 1988 Mr. Muth wrote a monthly article for the Michigan Bar Journal during the time he served as the President of the State Bar of Michigan. He has authored articles for the newsletter for the litigation section of the State Bar of Michigan including: "Finding the Winning Strategy," "The Right Way to Use Experts," and "Mediation Comes in More Than One Size." Mr. Muth is also the author of articles published in area newspapers such as "War or Peace in the Courts" for Business Update and "Dreams and Crazy Schemes" for The Grand Rapids Press. Honors and AchievementsMr. Muth was the recipient of the Roberts P. Hudson Award from the State Bar of Michigan, its highest award for professional achievement and service to the profession. He also received the President's Award from the Grand Rapids Bar Association and the Kalamazoo College Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Muth is a Fellow with the Michigan State Bar Foundation, American Bar Foundation, and the International Society of Barristers. He is a Life Member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference. Mr. Muth is named in "The Best Lawyers in America®" in practice areas of alternative dispute resolution, business litigation, commercial litigation, legal malpractice law, and personal injury litigation. Mr. Muth has been named a Michigan "Super Lawyer" in general litigation and is on the Top 100 list. He is named in Chambers USA - Leading Business Lawyers in the Commercial Litigation section. He was also named a "Top 10 Lawyers" by Grand Rapids Magazine. Community ActivitiesMr. Muth recently served on the Board of Trustees for the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Among his other community activities are being on the Provider Review Team for the Heart of West Michigan United Way, on the Board of Trustees with Natural Areas Conservancy of West Michigan and Kalamazoo College, and on Wayne State University Law School's Committee of Visitors. EducationMr. Muth received his Juris Doctor degree cum laude in 1971 from Wayne State University, which has elected him to the Order of the Coif, and his undergraduate degree from Kalamazoo College in 1967. He is admitted to practice in all Michigan trial and appellate court, numerous federal district courts, the federal appellate courts for the Sixth, Eighth and Tenth Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. Bar Admissions Michigan, 1971 Education Wayne State University Law School (1971, J.D.) cum laude Kalamazoo College (1967, B.A.) Professional Associations and Memberships American Bar Association State Bar of Michigan Grand Rapids Bar Association Federal Bar Association American Inns of Court, Master American Bar Foundation, Fellow Michigan State Bar Foundation, Fellow International Society of Barristers, Fellow U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan; Mediation and Arbitration Panels, Facilitative Mediator State Bar of Michigan 21st Century Courts Committee, Co-Chair Miller Johnson Professional Committee, Chair State Bar of Michigan; President, Vice President, Treasurer, Commissioner (past) American Bar Association, House of Delegates (past) Michigan LAWPAC, Director (past) Michigan Trial Court Assessment Commission; Court Funding Committee, Chair (past) Kent County Legal Assistance Center, Founder Grand Rapids Bar Association Legal Assistance Center Committee, Chair (past) "The Best Lawyers In America" for Business Litigation, Legal Malpractice, and Personal Injury Litigation |
