Christopher M. Clough joined Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo, PLLC in 2008 and has been a Managing Partner since 2014. Previously, Mr. Clough spent four years with the Transportation Division of the Attorney General’s office, representing the State of Texas predominantly in eminent domain matters. He focuses on major road projects throughout the state and other major land use cases including such recent cases as AM Peeler Ranch, LLC v. San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc., and City of Austin v. Lonestar Airport Holdings, LLC (the taking of the South Terminal at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport).

Mr. Clough serves as condemnation counsel in Texas for numerous institutional clients and nationally traded companies including McDonald’s, H.E.B., Weingarten Realty, Simon Property Group, and Life Storage. He has tried a variety of condemnation cases to jury verdict, handled hundreds of special commissioners’ hearings, and has multiple published appellate court decisions.

Mr. Clough graduated with a B.A. from Columbia University in 1999 and earned a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003.

He serves as a member of the Texas Bar Association and is admitted to practice in the Western District of Texas.

Accolades & Experience

Mr. Clough has been recognized as one of the top eminent domain lawyers by Texas Super Lawyers since 2021 and was admitted to the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) in 2019. He is a past member of the Lloyd Lochridge American Inn of Court and Robert Calvert Inn of Court, local associations for legal professionals in the Austin area. He frequently contributes to ALI and ABA eminent domain publications as well as the International Right of Way Association. He has served as Program Co-Chair for the Annual Eminent Domain Superconference in Texas for the past 10 years.

Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, Podcast “The Eminent Domain Podcast, Chris Clough on a Taking at the Austin Airport,” Spotify (March 2023)
  • Eminent Domain/Condemnation: Hot Topics and Issues for Non-ED Practitioners, 44th Annual State Bar of Texas Advanced Real Estate Law Conference (July 2022)
  • Presenter, Eminent Domain Update and Strategies, 44th Annual State Bar of Texas Advanced Real Estate Law Course (San Antonio, July 2022)
  • Peeling Back the Layers of Right to Take – Is Reclamation a Public Use? Texas Eminent Domain Superconference (April 2022)
  • Co-Speaker, The Most Ridiculous Court Rulings: How To Avoid Them Happening to You, ALI Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation CLE (Scottsdale, January 2022)
  • The Art of the Chart: How to Use Comparative Appraisal Analysis to Make Your Point, Condemnation 101, American Law Institute, Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation (January 2019)
  • Putting the Everglades Case to the Test: Principles of Highest and Best Use, Project Influence, and the Sales Comparison Approach in the Louisiana Salt Dome Litigation, American Bar Association, Real Property (November 2018)
  • Living with Lenders: Their Opportunity to Participate and Owner’s Counsel’s Right to a Fee, American Law Institute, Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation (January 2018)
  • The Municipalization of Utilities: The Story of Tyler, Blue Mound and Rising Utility Bills, American Bar Association (January 2016)
  • Speaker, Condemnation Issues In Leasing: Who Gets What and How to Get What Your Client Wants, American Bar Association, Real Property Lunch Series (April 2015)