Debra A. Walling's Profile Image

Debra A. Walling

Associate
Main Office: (248) 489-4100
Fax: (248) 489-1726

Prior to joining the firm, Debra A. Walling began her career in Columbus, Ohio where she practiced personal injury and corporate law. Upon moving to Michigan in 1984, she was an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Troy for six years. Debbie then served as Corporation Counsel for the City of Dearborn from 1993 to 2021. In that capacity, she was responsible for all contractual work and real estate transactions for the City, as well as providing timely legal counsel to the Mayor, City Council, department heads and all City employees, while supervising the legal staff and the City Planning Division. Debbie specializes in general municipal law, real estate development, zoning, and election matters.

Among her many accomplishments, Debbie handled all the contractual work for the sale of the former Calvin Theatre, the development of the West Village and West Village Commons, Georgetown Commons, Wagner Place, the Oakwood/Beaumont redevelopment of the former Montgomery Ward’s building, sale of the historic Dearborn City Hall to Artspace, the redevelopment of the Dearborn Hills Golf Course, and the development of Mystic Creek Golf Course at Camp Dearborn.

Debbie is licensed to practice in both the states of Michigan and Ohio. She is admitted to all state and federal courts in both states, as well as the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio and the United States Supreme Court.

PRACTICE AREAS

  • General Municipal Law
  • Zoning and Land Use
  • Constitutional Law and Civil Rights
  • Prosecution and Ordinance Enforcement
  • Real Estate and Construction
  • Insurance Defense
  • Appellate Advocacy
  • Law Enforcement

EDUCATION

  • Ohio Northern University, Bachelor of Arts, 1978
  • Ohio Northern University, J.D., 1981

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES/MEMBERSHIPS

  • State Bar of Michigan
  • State Bar of Ohio
  • Member, State Bar of Michigan Government Law Section, 1988-present
    Secretary/Treasurer,1996-1997
    Vice-Chair, 1997-1998
    Chair, 1998-1999
  • Chairperson of the Detroit Metropolitan Zoning Board of Appeals, 2017 to present
  • Appointed by Governor Granholm and served a three-year term on the State Community Corrections Board (2010)
  • Reappointed by Governor Snyder to serve on the State Community Corrections Board (2016)
  • Served as first woman President of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys (2005)
  • Appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to serve on the State Bar of Commissioner (2003-2006)
  • Serves on the Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee of the Detroit Bar Association
  • Former Trustee of Henry Ford Hospital-Fairlane and the western region
  • Member of the Detroit Bar Association
  • Member of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys
  • Member of the International Municipal Lawyers Association

AWARDS

  • Distinguished Municipal Attorney Award presented by the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys, 2012
  • Designated in “Leaders in the Law” by Lawyer’s Weekly, 2016
  • Inducted into the “Hall of Fame” by Lawyer’s Weekly, 2021