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 partners Emily Willms Rogers and Stefanie P. Albright will present at the Texas Water Association’s (TWA) 2025 Annual Convention, which will be held March 5-7 in Austin.

Stefanie will participate in the Case Law Update panel discussion during the speaker sessions on Thursday afternoon, March 6.  Before those sessions, Emily, chair of the TWA Board’s Navigation and Flood Control Panel, will present a case law update on Bonin v. Sabine River Authority of Texas during a meeting of the Panel’s members.

Please visit the TWA website for more information on this year’s program.

About Our Speakers

Emily Willms Rogers practices in the areas of water and environmental law. From permitting to transactional matters, she represents cities, river authorities, and water districts in matters involving surface and groundwater water rights, water and wastewater utility matters, water issues, and industrial and municipal solid waste disposal. She has served as the firm’s managing partner since 2018 and also leads the firm’s water practice group.

Stefanie P. Albright represents municipalities, water districts, water supply corporations, and regional authorities with matters involving environmental permitting, compliance, and enforcement; water quality; water and wastewater utilities; and water rights. She also provides general counsel services and advises clients on open government issues, real estate and construction transactions, competitive bidding, ethics, and governmental immunity.

The Texas Water Association (formerly Texas Water Conservation Association) Board of Directors has elected Emily W. Rogers, the firm’s managing partner and water law attorney, as its next President-elect. Ms. Rogers will assume the duties of this position in June 2025, when the board’s presidential roles transition. The TWA is a nonprofit policy association focusing on water supply and management. From drought to flood, it works with its members to address the state’s greatest water needs.

Ms. Rogers is a long-time member of the TWA. She has served on the board of directors since 2017 and currently chairs the Navigation and Flood Control Panel, one of seven panels that make up the organization’s board. She was also chair of the Water Law Committee and served on the planning committee for multiple water law seminars sponsored by the TWA. In recognition of her leadership and dedication to the organization, Ms. Rogers was honored with the President’s Award in 2017.

Ms. Rogers practices in the areas of water and environmental law. From permitting to transactional matters, she represents cities, river authorities, and water districts in matters involving surface and groundwater water rights, water and wastewater utility matters, water issues, and industrial and municipal solid waste disposal. In addition, she leads the firm’s water practice group and has served as its managing partner since 2018.

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.

The Environmental Ladies Who Lunch, a networking group comprised of women professionals in the environmental field, recently held its annual luncheon and fundraising event in Austin. Emily Rogers and Susan Maxwell, partners in the firm’s water law practice group, were among the hosts of the annual event.

For more than 13 years, this networking group has hosted an annual holiday fundraiser which benefits local nonprofit organizations. The featured beneficiaries of this year’s event were the Women’s Storybook Project, a program that helps incarcerated mothers maintain contact with their children through literature, and Foster Angels of Central Texas, an organization that works to improve the lives of children in foster care. To learn more about these organizations and their missions, click on the links below.

Women’s Storybook Project

Foster Angels of Central Texas

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.

Two BHDA attorneys were featured speakers at the recent 24^th Annual Changing Face of Water Law Course that was held February 22-24, 2023, in San Antonio. Emily Willms Rogers, managing partner, and leader of the Firm’s water law practice presented an overview of the PUC’s management of water-related matters. Kimberly Grinnan Kelley, an associate in the Firm’s water law practice, covered the basics of water law during her presentation. Both Ms. Rogers and Ms. Kelley frequently speak and write about topics related to Texas water law.

The program was presented by TexasBarCLE and co-sponsored by the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section and the Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

BHDA attorneys Gregory Miller and Emily Rogers were invited to speak at the annual 2022 Texas City Attorneys Association (TCAA) Summer Conference in Galveston. Mr. Miller, a public finance attorney with the Firm, will present “Municipal Borrowing in a Time of Climate Change”, and Ms. Rogers, a water law attorney, and the Firm’s managing partner will present “How to Fight a MUD and Why You Should.”

BHDA is a sponsor of this year’s three-day conference taking place June 15-17 in Galveston. The annual summer conference is hosted by TCAA and includes a variety of CLE sessions created specifically for municipal lawyers. More information is available here.

BHDA is pleased to announce Texas Bar Books’ (TBB) publication of the seventh edition of Essentials of Texas Water Resources, a singular publication covering all aspects of Texas water law. Partners in the Firm’s water practice group are among the original chapter authors of this publication, and again in this latest edition Douglas G. Caroom, Susan M. Maxwell, and Emily W. Rogers have co-authored the chapters on surface water rights permitting, groundwater transactions, and river authorities and regional water districts.

We are proud of our contributions to this publication and believe that water stakeholders will find it to be a valuable resource. Further details and ordering information for the seventh edition can be found on the TBB website.

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For more information about the Firm’s water law practice please visit this page.