Underwood’s Municipal Law practice represents municipalities, economic development corporations, and other governmental entities who rely on our advice to navigate their unique challenges. We assist clients across the Panhandle, South Plains, and West Texas areas.

Underwood provides services that include drafting ordinances, negotiating economic development contracts and other agreements, serving as bond counsel, addressing public finance issues and tax abatements, advising on employment, constitutional, and environmental law matters, and criminal prosecution.

Serving as general corporate counsel, Underwood works collaboratively with municipal officials and staff to develop a thorough understanding of their legal issues and strives to provide practical solutions so that clients can effectively serve their communities.

As general counsel, we advise and consult on all aspects of municipal operations including, but not limited to, the following:

• Attending City Council meetings and providing legal advice, counsel, consultation, and opinions to city councils, city boards (planning and zoning, zoning boards of adjustment, building compliance/substandard structure boards, utility boards, economic development boards, etc.) and to city administration and staff on the legal issues a city may face;
• Preparing and reviewing contracts for goods and services that involve the city. This includes advising and assisting on compliance with the public procurement and bidding statutes and interlocal agreements;
• Advising cities regarding the Texas Public Information Act and the Texas Open Meetings Act. This includes assisting in responding to open records requests as well as drafting and seeking opinions from the Attorney General on public information requests (when appropriate and necessary) and assisting and/or preparing agendas and advising on open meetings issues. Underwood maintains certification with the State of Texas to provide the legally required open meetings training.
• Preparing, reviewing and advising cities on ordinances, resolutions, orders and legal memorandums;
• Advising and counseling cities in order to minimize exposure to civil litigation and representing cities in all types of civil litigation including representing cities in federal court, state courts and at administrative hearings;
• Advising and counseling cities in all areas of employment law including developing policies and manuals to address federal and state regulations and advising on employee discipline and termination of employment, Underwood regularly handles F-5 hearings related to police officer terminations;
• Representing cities and acting as municipal prosecutor in municipal court and advising city law enforcement officials on criminal matters as needed;
• Advising cities on environmental law matters and representing cities before the TCEQ and other environmental regulatory bodies;
• Advising and consulting on community and economic development projects, services, zoning, job retention for economic development projects including drafting related contracts and agreements and associated real property agreements;
• Training and advising city officials and city staff on governance issues understanding the legally defined responsibilities and duties of their respective offices. This includes providing advice and guidance on procedural matters at city council and board meetings;
• Advising and representing cities on land use and development issues including annexation and the use of eminent domain;
• Reviewing and advising city officers and staff on conflicts of interest and ethical issues;
• Advising cities on election law issues including elections involving council offices and charter elections.

In addition to or as part of the services outlined above, the Municipal Law Group also has provided several project specific services for cities.

A few specific examples of these services are as follows:

• Charter Amendments – Advising, counseling, and drafting charter amendments for elections in the cities of Snyder, Littlefield, Muleshoe, Dumas, Slaton, Tulia, and Childress – all passing.
• Substandard Structure Ordinances – Advising, counseling, and drafting comprehensive Substandard Structure Ordinances for cities.
• Zoning – Advising, counseling, and implementing amendments to city’s comprehensive zoning plan.
• Acting as litigation counsel as well as interim general counsel for the City of Lubbock’s municipally owned electric utility, Lubbock Power & Light and advising and representing LP&L’s Electric Utility Board.
• Internal employee investigations on behalf of numerous cities.
• Special Investigations – For example, interviewing parties, analyzing documents, and drafting reports on issues of governance, employment, procurement, or other alleged misconduct.
• Advising and representing a city regarding an open records response and related lawsuit concerning a police investigation.
• Advising and drafting responses to large-scale open records requests

The Underwood Law Firm also has vast expertise in economic development matters, having represented both Type A and Type B Economic Development Corporations for decades. In addition to assisting EDCs with every aspect of an economic development grant or loan agreement, the Underwood Law Firm has assisted EDCs and their taxing entities with reinvestment zone creation and the tax abatement process. We have also worked with Texas cities on 380 Agreements.