Law student Heather Muir, who played Varsity golf at Kalamazoo College, is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
(Photo courtesy of Heather Muir)
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and growing up in Canton and in Durango, Mexico, Heather Muir saw stark contrasts in economies—and from a young age was eager to understand the reasons behind these differences.
She went on to earn her undergrad degree in economics at Kalamazoo College; and after graduation, spent six months as a caseworker at George P. Mann & Associates in Farmington Hills. Working primarily on asylum and cancellation of removal cases, she enjoyed the client interaction.
“It put into perspective for me how much clients rely on and trust their legal representatives,” she says.
This was followed by nine months at Ellis Porter—The Immigration Attorneys, working on visa applications for employees among companies coming to work in the United States.
Now in her 1L year at Detroit Mercy Law, Muir notes a major inspiration was volunteering in undergrad as a Spanish interpreter for JFON—Justice For Our Neighbors—in Kalamazoo, helping clients with intake paperwork and helping with childcare when parents met with an attorney.
“One of the girls I helped asked me if I wanted to be a lawyer one day and I replied with, ‘I think so, I’m still in school though.’ She looked at me and said, ‘Échale ganas, necesitamos abogadas como tú’ which translates to: ‘Give it all you’ve got, we need lawyers like you.’ Since then, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
Muir is particularly interested in international business transactions or data security and would like to combine her economics degree with her legal and multi-lingual skills—she is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, with a working knowledge of French and Japanese.
“My goal is to establish a legal career where I’ll have an opportunity to combine my multi-lingual and legal skills to contribute to a firm that works with international clients,” she says. “The overarching mission that drives me to achieve this goal every day is my desire to give back to the immigrant community in Southeast Michigan. I hope to reach a point in my career where I can provide pro bono services to immigrants, particularly those in low-income households, with their legal cases.”
Muir serves as secretary for the law school’s Immigration Law Association and is a member of the Hispanic and Latino Student Association.
“I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to be involved in spaces where meaningful conversations and knowledge are shared with such wonderful individuals,” she says. “Especially as a first-generation immigrant and law student, it’s easy to fall into the imposter syndrome hole, but these organizations have really made me feel welcome and like I belong here.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Muir was six months into undergrad studies abroad in Kyoto, Japan, with six months left in the program. Within a week of Kyoto’s first outbreak, the program was cancelled, and students sent back home. She nevertheless has many happy memories of her time in Japan.
“I enjoyed conversing with the local restaurant owners around the area where I lived. My Japanese was pretty broken, but they were always so patient and willing to help me develop my language skills,” she says.
“I learned a lot about mindfulness and meditation. Among the temples, shrines, beautiful gardens, and nature, I had a lot of opportunities to practice this and have tried to implement these practices into my lifestyle today. It really is amazing!”
Muir completed the remainder of her junior year online while living in Monterrey, Mexico, with her parents. Her mother, who is of Japanese descent, hails from the south of Brazil, and her father is from Paisley, Scotland, a city bordering Glasgow.
She also completed her senior year online, but this time in Michigan, living in Plymouth while working as a Co-Op at DTE Energy and caring for her brother, who was 14 at the time.
Leisure hobbies include golfing; in undergrad, she played on the women’s golf team, and was president of the Title IX student organization.
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