Robert F. Muse

Bob practices in federal and state courts across the country and has litigated hundreds of cases that have gone to judgment or settlement. A long-time member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Bob is listed in numerous peer reviews as one of the best lawyers in Washington, DC, for criminal defense work and civil litigation. His clients have included Senators, Members of Congress, and staff from both parties, White House staffers, other government officials, as well as labor unions, corporations, NGOs and other organizations.

In addition to representing clients in criminal prosecutions, civil litigation and congressional inquiries, he has led numerous corporate and governmental investigations. A former public defender, Bob is committed to pro bono representation, including death penalty cases. He has also served as counsel for lawyers and other professionals who have been subject to disciplinary charges.

In government, Bob served as a staff attorney for the Senate Watergate Committee (1973-1974); a trial attorney at the D.C. Public Defender Service (1974-1979); Chair of the D.C. Bar Committee inquiry into the relationship between the judiciary and court-appointed counsel (“the Muse Commission”); and General Counsel to the Senate Committee’s investigation of Hurricane Katrina (2005-2006). He has also led investigations and co-authored (with Sam Dash) the report “Justice Denied,” and a report on the Saville Inquiry (with Jack Bray), both regarding the Bloody Sunday killings in Northern Ireland. He is currently serving as counsel on behalf of the Government of Rwanda in an investigation of the role of the French government in connection with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Bob has been a partner at Levy Firestone Muse LLP since 2014. Prior to that, he was a partner at Stein Mitchell & Muse LLP from 1983 to 2014. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center (Congressional Investigations seminar); Lecturer, Trial Advocacy Workshop, Harvard Law School; Instructor, DC Bar Trial Practice program; an an Instructor, National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Bob is a graduate of Boston College and the Georgetown University Law Center. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Frank J. Murray of the United States Court in Boston. He is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Massachusetts.

Representative matters include:

• Designee of the International League of Human Rights in connection with the Bloody Sunday investigations in Northern Ireland.
• Counsel in major congressional investigations, including Watergate, Iran-Contra, the Justice Thomas/Anita Hill controversy, the Thompson Committee: Campaign Finance Inquiry, Whitewater, Enron, Hurricane Katrina and Congress’ inquiry regarding President Trump and Russia.
• Co-Chairperson of the Criminal Practice Institute, District of Columbia Bar
• Counsel to Major League Baseball Players Association in an investigation regarding doping/drug scandal
• Counsel to Department of Justice lawyers and FBI agents in various investigations, including claims of improper government activity
• Extensive grand jury experience, including Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654 (1988)
• Counsel to Cynthia Cooper, whistleblower in the WorldCom controversy and Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.
• Counsel to Dinesh Thakur in landmark False Claims Act case, U.S. ex rel. Thakur v. Ranbaxy, resulting in the largest drug safety settlement against a generic drug company, in U.S. history..
• Counsel to primary target in the “White House/FBI Files” case.
• Counsel to Paula Broadwell, biographer of Gen. David Petraeus
• Counsel to Dr. Dennis Burke in whistleblower case against Massachusetts General Hospital.
• Counsel to individuals or corporations in virtually every Independent Counsel Act investigation
• Counsel in District of Columbia’s only judicial bribery case (United States v. Campbell, et al.)
• Counsel in various espionage cases and litigation involving classified information
• Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center (Congressional Investigations seminar); Lecturer, Trial Advocacy Workshop, Harvard Law School; Instructor, DC Bar Trial Practice program; Instructor, National Institute for Trial Advocacy
• Co-author: Congressional Investigations: Politics and Process, Volume 44. American Criminal Law Review 1115-1176 (2007).
• Keynote speaker, Georgetown Human Rights Institute, March 15, 2011.

Bob has been selected by various peer review publications, including: Best Lawyers in Washington, for civil litigation and white collar criminal defense work, for over 25 years; Lawyer with Distinction, National Law Journal; rated AV Preeminent for 35 Years (the highest possible peer review rating in legal ability and ethical standards) by Martindale Hubbell; selected as among America’s Most Honored Lawyers by American Registry; selected as one of the top 100 Irish-American lawyers.

“Bob has an uncanny ability to see the big picture and anticipate where matters will go….  He quickly absorbs complicated issues, reassures that the events before us are manageable, and helps us understand our relationship to each party with whom we might interact.” —Cynthia Cooper, Extraordinary Circumstances