Best Lawyers in Michigan, United States for Municipal Law

Ms. Bowman has had a significant amount of experience acting both as bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel in a number of bond transactions, both at the state and local levels. She has acted as bond counsel for regional wastewater treatment and other systems, and represented the owners of a $230 million racetrack in Kansas City, Missouri in connection with bond financing for the facility. Ms. Bowman represents clients in securities law matters. She has also counseled clients on complia...

James R. Brown concentrates his law practice in municipal law and real property law. He represents many townships, villages, cities and other municipal bodies throughout West Michigan and elsewhere in the state. His law practice has a particular emphasis in the representation of townships, and he serves as general counsel for a large number of townships in Kent County and in surrounding counties. Jim is also an experienced township official, having served for 25 years as chairperson of the Gr...

Ronald Bultje is a Member in Dickinson Wright's Grand Rapids office. His practice is concentrated in the areas of municipal law and labor relations. He represents numerous municipalities throughout the western half of Michigan’s lower peninsula. He has extensive experience in advising legislative bodies, planning commissions, and zoning boards of appeal. In representing municipalities, Mr. Bultje provides a full array of services, including advice on contracts, intergovernmental relatio...

William K. Fahey is a Michigan lawyer serving public utilities and municipalities for more than 32 years. He represents electric and natural gas utilities in administrative, regulatory, commercial and appellate matters, and has been involved in nearly every major matter affecting Michigan public utilities over the last three decades. Mr. Fahey has represented more than 100 Michigan municipalities throughout Michigan, both as municipal attorney and as special counsel, principally handling muni...

Bradley A. Fowler focuses his practice on municipal law, civil litigation, real estate, and zoning/land use issues. Brad has a wide range of experience in representing large corporations, small businesses, local governments, and individuals in commercial, real estate, construction, contract, and employment related disputes in both Federal and State Courts. He also counsels local governments on a number of municipal matters including governance issues, planning and community development, Const...

Lisa J. Hamameh practices primarily municipal law, land use and zoning, Condominium and Homeowners’ Association law. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University in 1995 and is a 2000 graduate of Wayne State University Law School. Lisa has been recognized by Michigan Super Lawyers for eleven consecutive years – in 2011 and 2012 she was recognized as a “Rising Star” and from 2013-2022 she was included as a “Super Lawyer...

Steven P. Joppich has devoted his legal career to representing the interests of governmental entities. Since 1994, he has assisted local governments throughout Michigan with a variety of legal issues both in and out of the courtroom. As a result, Steve has gained substantial experience in a diverse and broad cross section of municipal law, with the following being a sampling of his municipal law practice: General and special counsel to cities, townships, villages and counties Zoning, land use...

Randy is a partner focusing on government finance and development. His practice focuses on land use and zoning issues as well as all aspects of municipal law and finance. He has worked on hundreds of development projects as either counsel to the municipality or to the developer.

Ross A. Leisman graduated with honors from Calvin College in 1984, and with honors from the University of Michigan Law School in 1988. Ross has served as chairman of the firm's Local Government Practice Group, has served on the firm's Management Committee and is a member of the Litigation Group. Ross specializes in civil litigation, bank disputes, land use and municipal law. He has served on several community boards, including the Kent County Building Authority, the Ada Township Planning Comm...

Denny Logan has extensive experience in business law and regularly advises businesses and municipalities on acquisitions, formations, governance, contracts, commercial real estate and other business matters. He also assists lenders in structuring and documenting complex commercial lending transactions. Denny is also the partner in charge of the firm’s estate planning and probate areas where the firm has an active practice in the drafting of wills, trusts, in probate administration, in r...

Stephen G. Meads is a shareholder in the firm and has specialized in municipal law and prosecution for over 25 years. He spent the first five years of his legal career at the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. While there, he handled all aspects of state law prosecutions and attended and graduated from the intensive National College of District Attorneys Career Prosecutor Program. He ascended to the level of Senior Felony Trial Attorney before deciding to enter private practice in 1992. Sinc...

Mark E. Nettleton practices in the areas of public finance, municipal law, land use and zoning law, and real estate. In his law practice experience, Mark has assisted Michigan counties, cities, villages and townships with bond issues and financing transactions, ordinance and utility franchise issues, intergovernmental agreements, special assessment proceedings, drain proceedings, assessments and financings, and annexation matters. His practice also includes counseling public authorities such ...

Ronald M. Redick practices primarily in the areas of municipal, appellate and administrative law, with a focus on zoning litigation, land use and riparian rights litigation, and also general civil litigation. He has published articles on manufactured housing and exclusionary zoning, the Open Meetings Act and public universities, and has authored presentations for the Labor and Employment Section of the American Bar Association on the topic of due process and government employment. Ron speaks ...

Carol A. Rosati is a founding and managing shareholder of the firm, in charge of its day-to-day operations. She is considered one of the top attorneys in the State of Michigan in the area of zoning and land use defense for municipalities. Carol is admitted to all state and federal courts in the State of Michigan, as well as the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the primary defense counsel for the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority in this area ...

Elizabeth Kudla Saarela is a Shareholder with the firm specializing in municipal law. For the past 21 years she has focused her practice in providing legal services to local governmental agency clients. She is the Township Attorney for Hamburg Township and an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Novi and the Cities of Farmington and Farmington Hills. Ms. Saarela also advises several other Oakland County communities on specialized governmental public works issues including water, sewer, and...

Jim Scales received a bachelor of science degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. Since 1987, Jim's law practice has involved him in real estate, construction, estate planning, and property taxation matters. Jim also has extensive experience in municipal law, zoning, utilities, and related issues. He has earned the Certificate of Completion for ICLE’s Probate and Estate Planning Program, and lectures regularly on zoning, municip...

Stephen O. Schultz is a founding Member of the law firm of Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes, PLC. The firm opened in 2008 to serve municipalities, public utilities and management in labor relations matters. For over thirty-five years, his practice has focused on the representation of management in labor and employment matters and municipalities in all matters. In addition, and as a side specialty, since 1979, Steve has represented a large number of interest groups involved in litigation to define...

Thomas R. Schultz is a shareholder in the firm and has concentrated his practice in municipal law for over 25 years. He is currently the City Attorney for the City of Novi, the City of Farmington, and the City of Sylvan Lake. He provides general counsel services to several other Oakland County communities including the City of Farmington Hills. Tom assists these communities and others with day-to-day legal work: reviewing and administering contracts, handling land use and development issues, ...

With a practice focus on municipal finance, Kester So has served as bond counsel or underwriter’s counsel on a wide variety of bond issues, including bonds for health care, public power, higher education, student loan, transportation, unemployment insurance, tax increment financing, state revolving fund, environmental, school bond loan fund, State and local building authorities, airports, water and sewer, solid waste disposal and economic and industrial development bonds.

Peter Webster focuses his practice in the areas of Real Estate Litigation, Eminent Domain, and Commercial & Business Litigation. Mr. Webster has represented landowners and developers, governmental authorities, utility, transmission, and pipeline companies, educational entities and others in matters involving acquisitions, easements and rights of way condemnation under eminent domain, permit and development rights and the protection of property rights. Mr. Webster’s practice also foc...

James K. White has specialized in municipal finance since his graduation from Northwestern University Law School in 1976. He has served as bond counsel for numerous Michigan townships, villages, cities, counties and public authorities. Born in Jackson, Michigan, and raised in Grand Rapids, he is a magna cum laude graduate of Albion College. Jim has assisted clients with all aspects of financing public capital improvement and infrastructure projects including public buildings, roads, sanitary ...

Matt is a member of the Environmental and Energy Practice Groups. A significant portion of Matt’s practice involves representation of municipalities and private developers in regard to water law matters, including: the permitting, operation and expansion of water supply/treatment/distribution systems and wastewater collection and treatment systems; sewer use ordinance drafting and enforcement including industrial pretreatment programs; stormwater management including ordinance drafting,...