Our ability to serve you
The Carlton Law Firm has a range of skills and experience to serve our clients
We help Texans better serve their communities
Emergency Services
Helping emergency services districts provide fire and emergency medical services. Representing the Texas State Association of Fire and Emergency Districts (SAFE-D).
Water and Wastewater Utilities
Counseling retail and wholesale water and wastewater utilities, both for-profit and nonprofit.
Local Government Administration
Advising special districts on local government regulations and ensuring compliance with state law.
Government Affairs
Guiding clients through the government bureaucracy of Texas and the Texas Legislature. Training leaders to advocate for their organizations.
Our team can be contracted as either general counsel or special counsel for your organization. No matter how you choose to work with us, we work cooperatively with you to find the best fit for your organization.
As general counsel, we walk with you through every step of your organization’s activities. We attend your meetings, provide legal advice on any of our practice areas, counsel your leadership on day-to-day challenges, and work to proactively provide solutions tailored to your organization’s unique challenges. As general counsel, we can help with tasks ranging from your largest hurdles to something as routine as drafting meeting agendas and minutes. General counsel contracts are typically long term and cover all areas of our practice.
As special counsel, we help your organization move through a specific challenge or project. Some examples of challenges and projects where we could help your organization include upcoming property tax, sales tax, and board elections, creation of special districts, annexation, licensing, drafting contracts, and regulatory proceedings and cases. Special counsel contracts are typically limited by topic and duration to fit the project or challenge we will address.
More about our work
Emergency Services
Emergency Services providers operate under a network of several complex legal frameworks. In addition to the local government administration topics that apply to emergency services districts (ESDs), our team specializes in the legal obstacles specific to ESDs. We can help your district navigate the many challenges you may face, regardless of what stage your district is in. We have helped clients establish new districts, negotiate service provider contracts, resolve annexation actions, and get licensed with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and Texas Department of Health and Human Services.
ESD finances can be just as challenging as the day-to-day work of first responders. Our team can help with the unique aspects of ESD finances including property tax rate setting, sales tax sharing agreements, sales tax elections, and property tax rate elections. You can find more information about our other local government administration financial law knowledge in the tab below.
Our partners helped form and have since acted as general counsel for the Texas State Association of Fire and Emergency Districts (SAFE-D). In this role, we have provided legal advice and government affairs services to both the association itself and all of its members. We are proud to represent the over 300 members of the association and share our knowledge through the association’s activities.
Water and Wastewater Utilities
Water and wastewater utilities are critical infrastructure for their communities. Our team works with entities that provide retail or wholesale water and wastewater services to keep these systems running. In addition to all of the local government administration topics that also apply to utilities, our team further specializes in topics unique to water and wastewater utilities.
Within the utility, we can help you set rates, calculate and approve fees, secure or amend permits, and help you understand applicable regulations that govern the utility’s activities. Our team also supports the utility in external activities. We have experience negotiating with developers, defending challenges and appeals from consumers to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and addressing wholesale rate challenges.
Local Government Administration
Running a local government unit, regardless of its purpose, falls under many shared rules and regulations. Our team is experienced in helping our clients navigate these obstacles in a way that best suits their particular situation, specializing in emergency service districts, water utilities, and wastewater utilities. We can help you and your organization comply with the legal requirements to manage your information, maintain your finances, meet ethical obligations, hold elections, and develop your assets. Our practice area for local governments includes:
- Open Meetings Regulations
- Public Information Act
- Property and Sales Tax Issues
- Loans and Bonds
- Construction Documents and Contracts
- Ethics Regulations
- Tax Elections
- Governing Board Elections
- Tax Rate Planning, and
- Operational Logistics.
Government Affairs
Navigating the government bureaucracy can be a challenge for any organization at any level. We help our clients form and maintain relationships within the state government, counties, and municipalities that help them better serve their communities. Since 1997, members of our team have worked to build their own relationships across Texas that can be shared with our clients. We work to identify these beneficial relationships for your organization and assist you in forming them for yourself. Our team can help your organization best advocate for itself to many levels of government in the state, including:
- Office of the Governor of Texas
- Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Texas
- Texas State Legislature
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Texas Public Utility Commission
- Texas Commission on Fire Protection
- Texas Department of Health and Human Services
- Texas Secretary of State
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, and
- Texas Office of the Attorney General.