Welcome to our website. The Office of the City Attorney serves as a public "law firm" for the City of Lansing. Our goal is to equal or exceed the legal abilities of any respected private law firm in the State and to be the best possible "law firm" to the City.

Thank you for visiting our website. If you cannot find what you need here, please contact me personally.
Phone: 517-483-4320
Email: bsmith@lansingmi.gov.

Sincerely,

Brig Smith
City Attorney

City Sues AT&T Over Public Access

The City has filed a Complaint in state court and a Petition with the FCC against AT&T to fight for equal treatment of public access, educational, and governmental (PEG) channels on AT&T’s U-verse service.

PEG programming serves an important role, connecting Lansing cable subscribers with real-time governmental, community, and emergency information.

Unlike the other television channels included in AT&T’s basic cable package, PEG channels are only being offered in an unfriendly, complicated, and inferior webcast format. Additionally, AT&T’s current delivery of PEG programming does not offer closed captioning or secondary audio for the hearing impaired.

Said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, “You Tube videos and drop-down menus are fine on the internet, but that’s not the picture and service quality you expect when you turn on your TV."

Judge Manderfield dismissed in its entirety a lawsuit that threatened the future of the historic Accident Fund redevelopment project. The City moved to intervene in the Attorney General's lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in order to protect the redevelopment of the Ottawa Power Station. The Power Station is being redeveloped by BCBS subsidiary, the Accident Fund.

The redeveloped Power Station will breathe new life into the City and refocus its energy toward, and not away from, the Grand

River. Many thanks to Mark Leonard and John McHugh for their hard work on this important case.

City and Boat Club Reach New Lease

The City and the Lansing Boat Club reached a new one-year lease. The lease provides access for all citizens, discounts for Lansing citizens, and a fair return on investment for the City. Under the lease, the City goes from receiving $50 in rent each year to upwards of $20,000 in a single year. Both sides hailed the agreement as a "win-win."

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