McFarland PLLC attorneys Billy Coe Dyer, Marie D. Harlan, Charles B. McFarland, and Mark L. Merrell have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2025©. McFarland, Dyer and Merrell are all honored in the Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law category, and Harlan is honored in Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for both Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law and Commercial Litigation.
Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. First published in 1983, Best Lawyers® is a highly regarded guide to legal excellence. More than 157,000 industry-leading lawyers from around the world are eligible to vote, and Best Lawyers receives more than 13 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.
McFarland has been recognized by Best Lawyers for fifteen years in a row. His deep experience handling condemnation matters includes several dozen condemnation jury trials and handling several hundred administrative hearings before special commissioners. McFarland has represented property owners across the state of Texas in significant condemnation cases against the State, the Texas Department of Transportation, and numerous other local governmental agencies and public-use entities. In addition to recognition by Best Lawyers, McFarland is frequently recognized by Texas Super Lawyers, another leading peer-review publication, for his expertise in the areas of eminent domain and condemnation law.
Dyer, who joined the firm in January, routinely ranks as a top legal expert by Best Lawyers, as well as by Super Lawyers and Chambers USA. In both 2017 and 2024, Dyer was recognized by Best Lawyers as “Lawyer of the Year” for Eminent Doman and Condemnation Law in Houston. Dyer’s lengthy list of notable victories includes the largest jury verdict for a property owner in a condemnation case in Texas and representation of the landowner in Interstate Northborough, the Texas Supreme Court case establishing a property owner’s right to recover proximity damages from an interstate highway project, which has been cited more than 300 times since the ruling.
New to the list this year is Merrell, who also practices exclusively in the area of eminent domain and condemnation law. His past experience working with governmental and public-use entities acquiring property and rights by way of large-scale infrastructure projects gives him uncommon insights into his current representation of property owners. He has handled hundreds of cases involving the full spectrum of public-use projects, from road widenings involving the Texas Department of Transportation to oil and gas pipeline takings and everything in between. Merrell has also been recognized by Super Lawyers (2024).
This is Harlan’s fifth appearance on the “Ones to Watch” list, which recognizes attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice. Harlan protects landowner’s interests both through negotiation and litigation with public-use entities seeking to acquire private property for public use. She is well-versed in the complexities of regulatory takings and the procedural technicalities of the statutory condemnation process, and she has first-chaired numerous administrative hearings before court-appointed panels of special commissioners.