Founder & Lead Counsel
Rick Muenz.
Calgary criminal defence lawyer since 1993. More than 30 years of criminal law practice, across Canada.
Rick was called to the Alberta Bar in 1993 and the British Columbia Bar in 2001. He has practised criminal law exclusively since 1992, defending every kind of charge from murder to mischief. The firm has been based in Calgary the entire time; the work has never been confined to one province.
Files have taken Rick into Provincial Court (Criminal and Youth Divisions), the Alberta Court of King’s Bench (more than 40 jury trials), the Alberta Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada, plus appearances before the Driver Control Board, the Traffic Safety Board, and the Law Enforcement Review Board.
Teaching and contributions to the field.
Rick is a guest lecturer at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law in the Advanced Criminal Law Course on sexual assault defence. He has also lectured at the Faculty on impaired driving, and has been a volunteer instructor for the Law Society of Alberta Bar Admission Course.
His papers for the Legal Education Society of Alberta include Production of Third Party Records in Sexual Offences and Evidence of Prior Sexual Activity. He has addressed the Canadian Bar Association Criminal Law Subsection, and was an invited guest lecturer at both the 2018 Provincial Court of Alberta Judges Conference and the 2019 Annual Education Conference of the Justices of the Alberta Court of King’s Bench.
Pro bono and recognition.
Rick contributed to A Parent’s Handbook Concerning Drug Use (with Dr. K. Wayne Hindmarsh, then Dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto) and has spoken for the Parents Research Institute for Drug Education (P.R.I.D.E.). For this work, he was invited to Parliament by the late Governor General, the Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, for his contribution to addressing youth drug abuse in Canada.
The work itself.
Most of the firm’s clients are first-time accused. They arrive frightened and unsure of what is coming next. Rick’s approach has not changed: explain the situation in plain language, prepare more than the other side, and walk into court ready.
The Crown prosecutors who appear opposite Rick know how he prepares. That is not marketing; it is the function of being in the same courtrooms for thirty years.
When Rick is not in court, he is most often somewhere reading. The job rewards the people who keep up with it.
Charges Withdrawn
Domestic Assault · Calgary
Client charged following a 911 call by a third party. Disclosure review surfaced inconsistencies; charges withdrawn pre-trial.
Not Guilty
Sexual Assault · Edmonton
Trial in Court of King’s Bench. Defence focused on credibility analysis under the relevant framework. Acquitted.
Dismissed
Impaired Driving · Lethbridge
Roadside-screening device challenge. Charge dismissed on Charter grounds.
Discharge
Theft Under · Calgary
First-time accused, Crown agreed to discharge with conditions. No criminal record.
Charges Withdrawn
Drug Possession · Red Deer
Search legality challenged at preliminary inquiry. Crown withdrew prior to trial.
No Record
Youth Offence · Calgary
Young person referred to extra-judicial sanctions. Matter resolved without a record.
“Rick told me what was realistic from the first phone call. He didn’t oversell, he didn’t talk over me. By the time we got to court I knew exactly what was going to happen, and that’s worth a lot when you’re facing something like this.”
Former client
Calgary, AB · 2024
“You don’t realise until you’ve been through it that being well-prepared is most of the job. Rick was prepared. The Crown knew it. So did the judge.”