The Kallman Legal Group is notorious for championing conservative causes such as challenging the state’s shutdown orders during COVID-19 and defending businesses that deny services to LGBTQ people based on religious beliefs. They were appointed immediately after the takeover of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners by Ottawa Impact in January 2022 without consideration for other legal groups based in Ottawa County. The obvious conflict of interest being ignored is Joe Moss’s business partner, Joel Kallman, is related to two of the principal attorneys in the Kallman Group. In a proper public posting of the position, this would not necessarily be a disqualifying factor depending on the firms qualifications, but in a no public posting appointment, it reeks of nepotism.
The qualifications of Kallman Legal Group are once again under scrutiny. The law firm isn’t known for and doesn’t list experience in municipal law necessary for corporation counsel work on its website. The firm does however hold the same political and ideological views as Ottawa Impact.
Everybody can learn, but learning is not free, and education takes time and that’s going to cost Ottawa County residents for our new lawyers to get up to speed. Again, no knock on Lanae or Jack, but it is what it is: if you don’t have the experience, you need to gain the experience and it’s going to take some time to get that, and that’s going to cost a little bit in billings. – Doug Zylstra
Previous Administrator John Gibbs alleged the firm gave inaccurate legal opinions and took longer on routine legal work because it lacked experience, among other claims. Gibbs claims the board bullied and fired him for criticizing the ability of Kallman Legal Group to perform its duties.
You have to absolutely agree with everything in lockstep, or else they’ll attack you. It’s a little bit dictatorial, like school bullying, where if you’re not with them, they’ll try to shove you in a locker. When I raised questions about (Kallman Legal Group), they thought I wasn’t being a team player or that the devil got to me or something. – John Gibbs
Gibbs was fired for cause after Deputy Administrator Benjamin Wetmore and Administrative Aide Jordan Epperson alleged Gibbs acted inappropriately and neglected his job duties. Gibbs was a principal in getting Wetmore and Epperson hired. Gibbs lawsuit against the county was recently dismissed from federal court but may be refiled in state court.
The First Amendment to the original contract with the Kallman Legal Group was for 3 years, 2023 to January 2026 as well as changing contract termination from a 90 day notice to just cause. The Second Amendment shortens that term to match the county’s fiscal year of September 30th. It also agrees to pay Kallman Group approximately $250,000 (approximately $25K per month) in advance for the year 2025 for a standard 24 hour work week. More can be billed for work over and above that time.
The contract claims the standard rate for Kallman attornies is $400 per hour but they will bill at the reduced rate of $240 per hour for corporate legal work. Litigation services are to be billed at $290 per hour. They also claim to have worked 1,491 unbilled hours last year. There is no detailed invoice of what that time was spent on.
This is a typical cover your ass tactic should there be scrutiny of the %100 increase in legal costs since hiring Kallman.
The finance committee made up of Ottawa Impact Commissioners only, voted to move the amendment forward to the full County Commission for consideration. That consideration is only skin deep as the board is still controlled by Ottawa Impact Commissioners until the end of the month.
Read or download the Contract Amendments below:
The legal costs have skyrocketed since Doug Van Essen was hired as corporate counsel in 2017 with a cap of $170,000. The cap was undoubtedly increased in subsequent years, the point being there was a cap.
We know that we’re not getting back to the days of Doug Van Essen when we were getting charged what, $250,000 a year? But also, let’s not go from $250,000 to $500,000. – Doug Zylstra
From the pieces of the puzzle, let us draw some conclusions:
- The Kallman Legal Group was a loyalist appointment by the Ottawa Impact Commissioners.
- The unprecedented need and cost of legal services is because of the mismanagement, particularly in the human resources area, by Ottawa Impact Commissioners led by Joe Moss.
- The Second Amendment to the Kallman contract and the prepayment is to hogtie the incoming board and prevent them from getting rid of the Kallman Legal Group.
- The lack of ethics and integrity of the Ottawa Impact commissioners in preventing the future board from fulfilling their proper role to manage the county resources is disturbing and should not be tolerated.
- Four of the Ottawa Impact commissioners will continue to be on the board. Their current actions must not be ignored or excused. They should be sanctioned and dismissed from all committees for a period of one year. The length of time they have prevented the elected board from doing their duties.
- All Ottawa Impact hires should be reviewed and their jobs open to public posting as soon as legally possible. They should be retained only if they are the most qualified applicant for the job. This must include legal counsel.