Tracie L. McCarn-Dinehart

Tracie M. Dinehart has been an attorney in Michigan for over ten years. She is the owner of North Pointe Legal, PLLC in Ludington, where she focuses her practice exclusively on criminal defense, child abuse and neglect, and family law. Tracie is committed to helping people achieve justice in a system that is far too often unfair. A large part of her practice involves helping children, either by working to keep them with their families or advocating for their rights in the juvenile justice system.

Tracie’s commitment to helping people began at a young age. She started college at Central Michigan University intending to become a veterinarian. She discovered her love of advocacy through her participation in debate and switched her major to communications. She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from CMU before deciding to go to law school.

Tracie attended Cooley Law School on weekends while working full-time for the State Bar of Michigan. She had multiple judicial internships and was a TA for the school’s Moot Court program. Despite such a full load, she graduated from Cooley cum laude.

After law school, Tracie clerked for a judge in Eaton County for a year. She practiced criminal defense, family law, and insurance defense litigation for several years, first as a solo practitioner and then as part of a small law firm. After a few years as in-house counsel at an insurance company, she returned to the work she loves most when she opened North Pointe Legal in 2018.

The view of the justice system that Tracie got during her clerkships, internships, and legal work inspired her to dedicate her practice to the pursuit of justice for people who rarely get a fair chance. Tracie loves working in the courtroom and advocating for her clients. She has developed a reputation for her tireless advocacy among both colleagues and clients, who refer to her as “Hell on Heels.”

While she welcomes the nickname her clients have bestowed upon her, Tracie prefers to call herself a “constitutional warrior.” She is relentless about making certain that police and prosecutors respect her clients’ rights. Her goals for her criminal defense clients go beyond successful outcomes in their cases. She wants them to have every possible chance for a decent life. She often helps her clients connect with resources in their communities after their cases have concluded.

Tracie’s child abuse and neglect clients are parents who have ongoing CPS investigations, or who are already facing a petition from the state seeking to terminate their parental rights. She helps her clients access resources that can keep families together. Many CPS cases involve parents with mental health or substance abuse issues, or whose kids have mental health issues that they lack the resources to address. In many of these cases, all the parents need is support.

Family law rounds out Tracie’s roster of legal services. She represents people in divorces and other family law disputes, working to ensure that their legal rights are respected.