Mr. Lax represents both businesses and individuals in matters involving municipal and zoning law, employment law, and litigation. He served as city attorney for the City of Ann Arbor and now represents a number of municipal governments as well as special boards and authorities in such areas of transportation, pension, and downtown development. He also represents private parties in their dealings with governmental agencies, has drafted local ordinances and state legislation in matters of municipal concern, and has represented the Michigan Municipal League in Michigan Supreme Court litigation concerning governmental immunity and other municipal and land use issues. He has written several articles dealing with municipal law and has lectured on municipal and employment law topics for a variety of legal and municipal organizations.
Mr. Lax was a law clerk to the honorable Wade H. McCree, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is former chairperson of the Public Corporation Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and former chairperson of the Michigan Civil Service Commission Employment Relations Board. He is also an associate professor emeritus of urban planning at the University of Michigan, where he taught courses in planning law, negotiation, and alternative dispute resolution.