Mr. Ellis has been practicing water law and been involved in water issues for over three decades. As a law student, he helped clerk the House Natural Resources Committee working on a variety of water legislation. After receiving his J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law, He worked as legislative liaison for the Texas Water Commission and later served as general counsel to the Harris-Galveston Coastal Subsidence District. The Edwards Aquifer Authority hired Mr. Ellis as their first general manager in 1997, a position he held until October 2004 when he left to start his solo law practice. In addition to representing subsidence districts and groundwater conservation districts, he serves as board secretary of the Texas Water Foundation, a nonprofit corporation that provides water conservation education throughout the State.