Our County and Municipal Governance Section’s combined experience is unparalleled. We solve specialized legal problems facing counties, cities, villages and towns from Superior to Kenosha and Green Bay to Platteville. Our team offers immediate and unmatched legal services to city, village and town attorneys and county corporation counsel, and for the governmental bodies they serve.

The von Briesen approach is to provide specialized counsel to local regular municipal and county legal counsel when additional outside assistance is needed. We also serve when requested as interim municipal counsel to bridge the gap between a legal staff departure and the hiring of new local counsel. Several members of our Section have extensive experience previously serving municipalities as the statutory city or village attorney. 

Our broad range of county and municipal governance services include:

• Assisting governmental entities (counties, towns, villages, cities, utility districts, and community or redevelopment authorities) with addressing economic development and growth in a fiscally-sound manner;
• Assisting municipal units in planning, implementing and finalizing all aspects of major public construction projects and infrastructure development including related professional services agreements;
• Negotiation, preparation and implementation of multi-party agreements in complex matters (boundary disputes, incorporations, joint use of utility facilities, telecommunication tower sitings and their leases, intergovernmental cooperative services agreements, real estate including multi-phased PUD projects with TIF funding, transportation projects, wastewater treatment, and permitting);
• Representation, mediation or arbitration in governmental disputes with other governmental entities or private parties in regard to matters as annexation, location of utility facilities or environmental disputes;
• Assistance with tax assessment issues and resolution of disputes;
• Providing expert legal representation in defense of governmental entities, officials, and employees against personal injury, property damage, environmental, constitutional (e.g., takings, First Amendment, due process or Section 1983), employment, and other liability claims, and in challenges to variance, licensing, assessment, permit or variance issuance or denial, rezoning and other decisions;
• Advice and representation in employment matters, including employment-practices audits, day-to-day personnel matters (employee discipline, employee discharge), and the creation, review and updating of employee handbooks and personnel policies;
• Conducting or overseeing internal investigations;
• Advising on conflicts of interest;
• Advising on compliance with public records and open meetings law issues;
• Advice and representation in labor matters, including union negotiations and grievances;
• Assisting with environmental permit compliance, wastewater treatment, and utility charge disputes;
• Conducting training of local elected and appointed officials and bodies, including Police & Fire Commissions;
• Serving as special counsel where a conflict arises for local government counsel; and
• Serving as general counsel for local governmental entities on an emergency or interim basis.