City governments face complex legal issues that are as significant as any faced by the business community, and, in addition, cities have the added burdens of complying with laws that pertain only to governmental operations and responding to their constituencies. Bickerstaff Heath provides both City Attorney and Outside Counsel services on specialized municipal legal issues across Texas.
Serving the needs of small villages and large cities requires a variety of expertise that is best provided by specialty groups. We have an experienced city attorney group that serves as city attorney for several Central Texas cities and that provides back-up services in many more cities. Day-to-day experience guiding cities through the complex legal and business issues faced by city officials and staff is the primary responsibility of our municipal legal team. We advise municipal clients in all areas of public law:
- legal aspects of managing basic city functions such as police, fire, taxation, etc.
- public finance
- annexation, zoning, and condemnation
- land use and development
- construction
- economic development
- municipal court prosecution and operations
- ordinance drafting
- employment matters
- compliance with open meetings and records laws
- elections
- water, wastewater, electric utilities, and franchises
- litigation
- ethics
Our attorneys deal with municipal issues in all areas of the state and provide to our clients the perspective and lessons of other communities.
Our attorneys provide specialty assistance on municipal matters in the following areas:
Bickerstaff Heath has a national reputation in the field of Election law. Our attorneys have guided hundreds of local governmental entities through the election process. We have extensive experience in interpreting and working with state election laws and election procedures for cities. We assist clients in developing and adhering to election schedules and deadlines. Our elections attorneys are available to assist cities with their elections, from ordering ballots and other supplies and materials to translating elections materials into Spanish, coordinating joint elections, verifying signatures on a petition, training elections staff and workers, obtaining polling places, and supervising recounts or handling protests.
The firm has assisted in preparing several hundred preclearance submissions to the Department of Justice for both general and special elections. We have advised cities on holding local option elections. We have helped analyze the need for bond elections, as well as organizing and coordinating them. Additionally, we have represented candidates and local governments in election contests, suits to enjoin elections, and voting rights litigation. Our Elections Services team includes a former Texas Secretary of State, six experienced attorneys, and the former Deputy City Clerk of the City of Austin.
MATTER EXAMPLE: Between 1996 and 2004, we assisted Austin Independent School District on the election aspects of three successful bond elections in which voters have authorized over $900,000,000 for school projects. The types of services we can provide include:
- drafting election orders, canvasses and notices
- establishing and mapping election precincts
- identifying and securing polling locations
- determining ballot styles
- obtaining DOJ preclearance
- recruiting and training election officials
- advising on election and campaign ethics requirements
- advising on public forum speech issues
MATTER EXAMPLE: Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, and the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District recently held a joint election assisted by the firm's Elections Services team. Our services included negotiating and contracting for joint elections and elections services agreements under the Texas Election Code. Previous agreements have included as many as 11 participating political subdivisions, which requires conforming the goals and special circumstances of each entity with the various election laws governing each of the entities. The firm has handled every aspect of organizing and conducting Texas elections, from calling the election through completion of any recount.
We have represented governmental entities and elected officials in connection with different types of challenges to elections, including requests for recounts, judicial contests of election results, and challenges to candidates' qualifications, including candidates for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Texas House, and Chief Judge of a Court of Appeals.
MATTER EXAMPLE: We successfully defended the City of Houston in a mandamus action brought by voters complaining of the City's failure to place a referendum item on the ballot. The court found that the petition was filed too late and that the petitioners' actions had prevented the City Secretary and other officials from verifying signatures and completing other prerequisites to placing the measure on the ballot.
MATTER EXAMPLE: We successfully defended the City of Houston against efforts to enjoin its municipal elections in 1985. In 1991, we represented the City as plaintiff and obtained a federal court order that permitted the City election to go forward after the Department of Justice objected to the City's council district boundaries after the end of the candidate filing period. Campos v. City of Houston, 776 F. Supp. 304 (S.D. Tex. 1991); 112 S.Ct. 354 (1991) (Scalia, J., in chambers) (denying injunction and stay); United States v. City of Houston, 800 F. Supp 504 (S.D. Tex. 1992)(three-judge court); LeRoy v. City of Houston, No. H-78-2174 (S.D. Tex. 1985).
Bickerstaff Heath is very experienced in assisting municipalities in the development of water supplies and water and wastewater systems to better serve their citizens. Of particular interest to municipalities is the following types of city-related experience:
- securing water rights
- drafting interlocal agreements for water service and system operation
- contracting, planning and permitting for water supplies and infrastructure construction
- representing entities in wastewater discharge permitting, rulemaking and enforcement proceedings
We also have assisted numerous cities in matters involving water and sewer certificates of convenience and necessity (CCN), as well as water and sewer rate proceedings. Our attorneys handle issues related to landfills, incinerators, municipal waste disposal, and power plants. We have handled litigation under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Bickerstaff Heath's utility lawyers have represented both municipally-owned and investor-owned electric utility companies. We have assisted our municipal clients with industry restructuring, fuel issues, franchise agreements, and a variety of environmental issues specific to electric utilities.
MATTER EXAMPLE: Bickerstaff Heath attorneys assisted the City of Castroville in acquiring additional service area through a regulatory proceeding before the Texas Public Utility Commission.
MATTER EXAMPLE: The firm successfully represented the City of College Station in district court litigation involving a dispute over service territory delineated by contract.
We pride ourselves on being accessible to our city clients. Not only do we provide a physical presence at meetings and special events, we effectively utilize technology to insure prompt responses to all legal needs. A great number of Bickerstaff Heath attorneys also actively participate in activities of the Texas Municipal League and the Texas City Attorneys Association, as well as the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the Association of Hispanic Municipal Officers, and similar industry groups.
We also assist city clients in keeping up-to-date on relevant legal issues. Our annual training program for newly-elected city officials gives them a jump-start into their new responsibilities. Our annual Local Government Seminar addresses key topics of interest to city officials. We produce day-long seminars on local government topics in conjunction with the Texas Leadership Institute. Recent topics have included Public Works from Start to Finish and Issues Affecting City Government. We also know that a phone call or a fax is important for keeping clients informed when the legislature or courts are addressing key municipal topics.
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Attorneys who practice Municipal Law
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2009 Supreme Court Voting Rights Cases