The Best Lawyers in America® has included seven Bickerstaff attorneys across multiple practice areas in its 2027 edition.

Recognition by Best Lawyers® is based entirely on peer review surveys designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical region and practice area.

Congratulations to our attorneys who were named in the 2027 guide:

Stefanie P. Albright – Water Law

Philip B. Arnold – Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law

Cobby A. Caputo – Litigation-Municipal

Douglas G. Caroom – Water Law

Bill Dugat – Water Law

Emily W. Rogers – Water Law

Gunnar P. Seaquist – Litigation-Labor and Employment

Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta is pleased to announce that seven of the firm’s attorneys have been included in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Recognition by Best Lawyers® is based entirely on peer review surveys designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical region and practice area.

Below are the BHDA attorneys listed in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Philip B. Arnold – Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law

Cobby A. Caputo – Litigation-Municipal

Douglas G. Caroom – Water Law

Bill Dugat – Water Law

C. Robert Heath – Administrative/Regulatory Law

Emily W. Rogers – Water Law

Gunnar P. Seaquist – Litigation-Labor and Employment

BHDA is pleased to announce the recognition of seven attorneys in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

• Philip B. Arnold – Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law (2024-2025)
• Cobby A. Caputo – Litigation-Municipal (2024-2025)
• Douglas G. Caroom – Water Law (2007-2025)
• Bill Dugat – Water Law (2024-2025)
• C. Robert Heath – Administrative/Regulatory Law (2022-2025)
• Emily W. Rogers – Water Law (2024-2025)
• Gunnar P. Seaquist – Litigation-Labor and Employment (2024-2025)

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Selection is based entirely on peer review surveys from thousands of attorneys who evaluate the legal abilities of other lawyers within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Lawyers are not required nor allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a significant honor.

BHDA is pleased to announce the recognition of seven attorneys in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. This edition includes the largest number of attorney selections from the Firm and marks the addition of five first-year honorees.

• Philip B. Arnold – Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law (2024)
• Cobby A. Caputo – Litigation-Municipal (2024)
• Douglas G. Caroom – Water Law (2007-2024)
• Bill Dugat – Water Law (2024)
• C. Robert Heath – Administrative/Regulatory Law (2022-2024)
• Emily W. Rogers – Water Law (2024)
• Gunnar P. Seaquist – Litigation-Labor and Employment (2024)

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Selection is based entirely on peer review surveys from thousands of attorneys who evaluate the legal abilities of other lawyers within the same geographical area and legal practice area. Lawyers are not required nor allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a significant honor.

BHDA partner Bill Dugat will participate in the August 31^st panel discussion “Groundwater Management – When Everyone Wants a Piece of Texas” during the 2022 Texas Groundwater Summit.

Presented by the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts, the Summit is an annual event that provides a variety of expert presentations covering all areas of groundwater management. It is scheduled for August 30-September 1, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. Visit the Summit event page for more information, including how to register and the program agenda.

Bill Dugat practices in the areas of water and environmental law, public law, and administrative law. He has substantial experience involving groundwater matters and serves as general counsel for a number of groundwater conservation districts in Texas, including the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and the Bluebonnet Groundwater Conservation District.

BHDA water law attorney and partner Bill Dugat will moderate a panel discussion entitled “Lessons Learned: Accountability and the Petition for Review Process” on September 3^rd at the Texas Alliance of Groundwater District’s (TAGD) 2020 Virtual Texas Groundwater Summit.

In addition, the firm is a sponsor of this year’s Summit and will have a booth in the virtual exhibit hall, which runs throughout the conference.

To learn more or view this year’s conference agenda, visit the TAGD website: https://texasgroundwater.org/texas-groundwater-summit/

Historically, cities have secured water from fresh water sources such as surface water (lakes, reservoirs, and rivers) or groundwater (wells). Population growth and repeated droughts have increased demand for alternative sources of fresh water and novel solutions to the problem of scarce water. Several potential alternatives for managing and securing water for municipalities include export/transport of water, water conservation and reuse, and desalination. Each of these approaches and their attendant challenges will be discussed briefly below. No single solution is likely to be sufficient-there is no magic bullet. Instead, municipal water security will depend on attacking the problem of supply from multiple fronts and confronting the challenging legal issues that arise.

The character of groundwater ownership has received more attention in the last 18 months than in the previous 100 years. The ownership issue is pending before the Texas Supreme Court in Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day and the Texas Legislature addressed ownership in amendments to Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code. This paper reviews groundwater district permitting in the context of changes made by the 82nd Legislature and what a takings claim might look like post EAA v Day.