OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The controversial law firm brought in to head Ottawa County’s legal matters has resigned.
According to county documents, the Kallman Legal Group “resigned as Corporation Counsel" on Friday.
The law firm was hired inJanuary 2023 by the Board of Commissioners. The commissioners who spearheaded the hire were affiliated with the organization Ottawa Impact.
FOX 17 later learned that one of the lead attorneys, David Kallman, is related to former Chairperson Joe Moss’s business partner.
Moss, who is currently a commissioner, voted to hire the firm and has consistently expressed his satisfaction with it.
“They are the top constitutional law firm in the state. They're very well known for their constitutional work, their work protecting homeschoolers, their work protecting, you know, athletes. I believe they won a very big case during the government response to the pandemic,” Moss said in an interview with FOX 17 in July 2024.
In December, the outgoing Board of Commissioners passed a resolution to pay its legal counsel a nearly quarter-million-dollar lump sum up front. This cost was around the amount it would be for the minimum services provided for the year's contract.
FOX 17 has been tracking the invoices the firm filed with the county over its two-plus years of service.
The firm billed the county more than $1 million to handle the day-to-day operations from January 2023 through December 2024.
FOX 17 did some investigating to see how much the county was paying its previous law firm. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, FOX 17 learned Ottawa County paid the previous corporation counsel, Silver Van Essen, more than $730,000 from 2020 through 2022.
The county now looks to place Ron Bultje and Dickinson Wright as interim corporation counsel. The board is set to vote on the interim appointments on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
The Kallman Group dealt with several lawsuits on the county's behalf. The biggest lawsuit they faced involved dealing with the county’s health officer, which lasted several months and involved a public hearing.
The Board of Commissioners attempted to demote the health officer and hire a replacement. The two parties eventually reached an agreement, and the health officer stayed on the job, which cost the county’sInsurance Authoritymore than $400,000.
The Kallman Legal Group billed the Ottawa County Insurance Authority around $225,000 to fight off that lawsuit.
County documents say the Kallman Legal Group will serve the county through a "transitional period" through May 31. The firm has agreed to be available for consultation 24 hours a week.
FOX 17 did reach out for a comment from David Kallman, but we have yet to hear back.
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