Municipal Law

Helping City Leaders Protect the Things that Matter

Writing “city leaders have a hard job” would be an understatement. City leaders not only have to be a public figure and navigate the management of their municipality on a daily basis, but they also regularly face a barrage of complicated legal issues.

At Johnson/Turner Legal, our Minnesota municipal lawyers have the tools to help city leaders care for their municipalities. We assign a veteran municipal law attorney, two paralegals, and a client engagement specialist to every case. Our client-centered approach enables us to help city leaders work through legal issues and learn new leadership skills for the future.

That’s not the only thing we do to prioritize our clients. With our flat-fee pricing model, you know up-front how much all of our services cost. We know you’ve got more important things to worry about than hidden costs, and flat-fee pricing ensures that you pay for our services, not our time.

To discuss your municipal law issue with our firm, contact us online or via phone at (320) 299-4249.

What Is Municipal Law?

Municipal law governs the legal system within your city, county, township, or borough (colloquially referred to as “municipalities”), and how governmental bodies within those municipalities operate.

Municipal laws can affect the following aspects of a municipality:

• Bylaws – Bylaws set rules for how a municipality conducts business. For example, bylaws govern how a city runs townhall meetings, how city voting stations operate, how the city keeps records, etc.
• Land Use – Land use laws also affect private citizens and public clients (learn more about that by visiting our Real Estate & Land Use page), but municipalities draft and enforce land use laws like zoning regulations.
• Business Licenses & Zoning – Municipalities can determine what kinds of licenses a business needs to obtain to operate, and zoning laws can affect where companies are located.
• Taxes – Municipalities set property taxes for estate owners and dictate how the municipality utilizes taxes.
• Education – The municipality draws school districts, governing which public schools citizens attend relative to their place of living. Additionally, the local board of education (often considered municipal officials) can dictate how schools conduct learning.
• Civil Rights – Civil rights laws govern bodies such as police forces, dictating how municipal employees should act towards citizens.
• Criminal Prosecution – We serve communities as criminal prosecutors, working with the police and the justice system to protect the rights of all citizens and help maintain the peace and safety of our towns and cities.

Although we may not give municipal law much thought in our day-to-day lives, it governs much of our conduct. For example, if you’ve ever paid for a parking ticket or received a speeding ticket, you’ve had a run-in with municipal law.

Citizens who violate municipal laws must attend a hearing in municipal court. Some common municipal court hearings include:

• Traffic law violations, such as speeding tickets.
• Disorderly persons offenses (such as the possession of illegal substances, shoplifting, or resisting arrest).
• Fish and Game, Parks and Forests, Weights and Measures, SPCA, and Boating Regulations violations.
• Municipal ordinance violations, such as zoning violations.

Citizens can also file suits against municipalities if they believe a municipality employee has violated their rights or caused them damage. For example, if a child is hurt on a playground due to faulty equipment, the child’s parents may be able to file a suit against the municipality for negligence. As a result, lawsuits can quickly drain a city’s budget.

At Johnson/Turner Legal, we’re proud to offer city leaders legal assistance. We represent municipalities to help them work through lawsuits and take proactive action to prevent potential suits from occurring.

Tips for City Leaders (How to Leverage Our Services)

We’re aware that for many city leaders, hiring a municipal attorney is a leap of faith. Here are some things city leaders interested in leveraging our services to resolve cases may want to keep in mind:

• We’re on your team. As municipal attorneys, we help city leaders abide by the law and protect their citizens. If we advise you to tackle safety issues proactively, it’s not because we don’t trust your leadership—we’re trying to help you protect residents and safeguard the integrity of municipal officials.
• Get a hold of us early. The sooner you bring us on board for a case, the more effectively we can help you handle it. If we have advance notice about a case, we can gather more evidence and prepare more thorough arguments, which helps us help you.
• The more information you have, the better. If you completely and accurately disclose all the details surrounding a case to us, we can build a case strategy tailored to your specific circumstances and needs.
• Let us know what you want and be honest with us. We’re a client-facing firm. We’ll never beat around the bush with you concerning what you can expect from our attorneys or our predictions for your case. We’re honest with all our clients, and we don’t shy away from candid opinions and feedback.

At Johnson/Turner Legal, we take pride in providing municipal leaders with no-nonsense, efficient legal representation.

To retain a consultation with one of our legal professionals, contact us online or via phone at (320) 299-4249.