Andrew J. Brege

Andrew J. Brege is a shareholder in the Lansing office. He focuses his practice on municipal law, municipal liability and civil rights defense, as well as matters impacting local mental and public health departments. Andy has represented municipalities, governmental agencies, and private businesses across the state on employment matters, law enforcement liability, civil rights, and other liability concerns. He also frequently appears on behalf of clients in administrative tribunals, such as the EEOC, Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and in Medicaid Fair Hearing proceedings. He currently serves as general counsel to OnPoint, the Allegan County Community Mental Health Authority, Northpointe Behavioral Healthcare System, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, the Jackson Area Transit Authority, and as special counsel for the Oakland Community Health Network. He is admitted to all state and federal courts in the State of Michigan. In 2011, he served as the principal editor for the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority’s Open Meetings Act Handbook, as well as its more recent updates. He is a frequent presenter around the state on the Open Meetings Act, Freedom of Information Act, and topics related to civil liability for local municipalities, with a focus on law enforcement and community mental health. He also provides training for the Michigan Sheriff’s Association for its New Sheriff and Undersheriff programs and MISSION Investigator courses.

Practice Areas

• General Municipal Law
• Zoning and Land Use
• Constitutional Law and Civil Rights
• Employment and Labor
• Insurance Defense

Education

• WMU Cooley Law School, J.D. magna cum laude, 2007
• Alma College, B.A., 2003

Admitted to Practice

• All courts for the State of Michigan
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
• United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Awards

• Selected to Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2020-2024
• Selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars by Thomson Reuters, 2013-2018

Publications / Presentations

• Presenter, Michigan Sheriff’s Association Annual Meeting, Summer 2025, Immigration Enforcement and Corrections Law updates
• Presenter, Michigan Township Association 2025, First Amendment Legal update
• Co-Presenter, MMRMA Annual Corrections Legal Update Seminar, Spring 2022 - 2025
• Presenter, MAMA Municipal Law Program, Fall 2024, First Amendment Legal update
• Presenter, Michigan Sheriff’s Association, New Sheriff School, Employer Law Primer, 2021, 2025
• Co-Presenter at MMRMA Corrections Supervisor Training, October 2018
• Public Safety Administrator Training, “Brady v Maryland, Giglio v United States, and the Due Process Duty to Disclose,” MMRMA, April 2016
• Co-presenter at the MMRMA Risk Management Workshop on Freedom of Information Act legal update, March 2016
• Lenawee County Legal Update Training, presentation on the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act, February 2015
• Featured speaker at Joint Committee meetings of the MMRMA, presenting “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Litigation,” 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
• Guest lecturer, Grand Valley State University, Law & Hospitality sections, presenting on Dram Shop Act and liquor liability in Michigan, April 2014
• Co-presenter at the MMRMA Risk Management Workshop, “Public Meetings: Working with the Public and Boards to Avoid Lawsuits,” March 2014
• Co-presenter at the MMRMA Risk Management Workshop, legal update on the Open Meetings Act, March 2012
• “Michigan’s Waste Problems: How expansion of the Bottle Bill and other options could help defeat the dormant commerce clause and out-of-state waste,” Cooley Law Review, 2006

Community Service

• St. Michael's Knights of Columbus Council 7311
  Member