Jessica L. Wood

Jessica has been in practice for over two decades, focusing on Michigan municipal law and finance for the past 22 years. A Grand Rapids native, she graduated from the University of Michigan before moving to Oregon for law school (go Ducks!). She began her practice in Eugene and Portland, focusing on environmental and land use law. After returning home in 2000, Jessica clerked at the Michigan Court of Appeals before joining the Law Weathers municipal law group in 2003.

Jessica focuses on economic development and municipal finance, serving as both Bond Counsel and underwriter’s counsel. She is Bond Counsel for the City of Grand Rapids, including for the Acrisure Amphitheater and Amway Soccer Stadium projects currently underway.

She serves as City Attorney and Bond Counsel for the cities of Lowell, Hastings, Rockford, and Hudsonville, and provides legal counsel to all of their economic development authorities. She also represents multiple stand-alone economic development authorities, including the City of Kalamazoo Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, the City of Kalamazoo Downtown Economic Growth Authority, the City of Kalamazoo Downtown Development Authority, the City of Kalamazoo Economic Development Corporation, the City of Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, the City of Grand Rapids LDFA SmartZone, the City of Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority, the City of Grand Rapids Downtown Improvement District, the Grand Rapids–Kent County Convention Arena Authority, Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc., Grand River, Inc., the Grand Valley Regional Biosolids Authority, the City of Grand Rapids Water Department, Lowell Light & Power, and the Kent County Dispatch Authority.

Additionally, she served as City Attorney for the City of Benton Harbor during its financial restructuring under Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law. From 2014 to 2018, she served as the Director of Municipal Affairs in the City of Grand Rapids City Attorney’s office.