About Our Firm
About Barton & Associates: Trial Lawyers Since 2001
Most people who call Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law are not shopping for a law firm in general. They are looking for answers to a specific crisis. They were arrested last night. They were served with divorce papers this morning. They learned that a co-parent filed for emergency custody, or they received a target letter in a federal investigation. The questions are immediate and practical: What happens next? What can be done? Who can actually help?
We built this firm to answer those questions honestly and to act on them quickly. Barton & Associates opened in San Antonio in 2001 under Gary J. Barton, a former Capital Murder prosecutor who moved to the defense side. Today a team of trial attorneys works from offices in downtown San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi, handling criminal defense, family law and personal injury cases in Bexar, Travis and Nueces Counties and in federal court. The founding idea has not changed: every client should have a lawyer who is prepared, easy to reach and willing to try the case.
Across all three practice areas, three things set the way we work. Our attorneys try cases and do not only settle them. The team is large enough to handle a case with many parts without stretching any one lawyer too thin. And you get an honest assessment of where you stand under Texas law before you decide what to do.
Our Focus
Our Story, Our Values and Why Clients Choose Us
Barton & Associates opened in San Antonio in 2001. Its founder, Gary J. Barton, saw a gap. People in San Antonio and Bexar County who faced a serious criminal charge, a contested divorce or a hard custody dispute needed a lawyer with real trial experience who would take the case seriously and stay reachable, and that combination was not always easy to find.
Gary came to the work with an unusual background. Before opening the firm he was a prosecutor who handled serious felonies, including Capital Murder cases. That work showed him how the State builds a case, which evidence prosecutors rely on, which witnesses carry the most weight and where a defense can press hardest. When he moved to the defense side, he took that understanding with him, and it still shapes how the firm prepares its cases.
The firm began with criminal defense and has since added family law and personal injury. It now includes trial attorneys, support staff and offices in three Texas cities. The growth was deliberate. Each attorney we add is chosen for trial experience, knowledge of the local courts and a willingness to take a case to verdict when the client’s situation calls for it.
Our home office is at 115 Camaron Street in downtown San Antonio, and our Austin and Corpus Christi offices serve clients in Travis and Nueces Counties. Our attorneys know the courthouses, the procedures and the way different courtrooms run their dockets, and that knowledge shapes the advice we give from the first consultation.
What has not changed since 2001 is the standard the firm was built on: every client, whatever the charge or the complexity of the case, gets a lawyer who is prepared, accessible and accountable for the work.
The values behind how we work are not slogans on a wall. They are decisions we make every day in how we handle cases, talk with clients and judge whether we are doing the job well.
Honesty before comfort. The most important thing we owe a prospective client is an accurate picture of where they stand under Texas law, not an optimistic one meant to win a retainer. When the evidence in a DWI case is strong, we say so and explain what the defense can realistically achieve. When a custody case is difficult, we explain why and which factors a judge is likely to weigh. Clients who understand their situation make better decisions, work with us more effectively and are better prepared for whatever the outcome turns out to be.
Preparation. We prepare every case as though it may be tried. That standard helps in negotiation too, because prosecutors and opposing counsel can tell when a lawyer is ready for trial and when one is not. We file a motion to suppress when the facts support it, since winning that hearing can end a criminal case before trial. We bring in financial experts when a divorce involves hidden assets, because the numbers drive the division of property. Preparation is not a promise we make. It is the process we follow.
Accountability. Every client should be able to reach the attorney handling the case. We return calls, we explain what is happening in plain terms and we say so when a case does not go the way we expected. Hard news comes from us, not from the court’s online docket.
Respect. We deal professionally with prosecutors, opposing counsel and judges, because courtesy costs a client nothing and credibility counts for a great deal at the negotiating table. Strong advocacy is not the same as hostility. We follow the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, and we treat every client, whatever the charge or the circumstances, with the dignity the stakes demand.
Most law firm websites make the same promises: experience, results, a free consultation. A better question is what stands behind them. Here is what we ask prospective clients to check when they compare Texas law firms, and each item can be verified.
- Lawyers who try cases. Gary J. Barton, our founding attorney, has tried more than 100 cases to a jury. Jim Erickson, a senior trial attorney, has practiced criminal defense since 1985 and has more than 250 jury verdicts in more than sixty Texas counties. Duane Graeff, our managing attorney, has practiced for more than 26 years in Texas state and federal courts. Désirée Flye is a trial attorney on the firm’s family law team. Prosecutors and opposing counsel know the difference between a lawyer who will try a case and one who will not, and it affects what they offer.
- A prosecutor’s view of the case. Our founding attorney spent years prosecuting serious felonies, Capital Murder among them. He knows how the State weighs a case for trial against a plea, which evidence it treats as strongest and how it tends to respond to a motion to suppress. That view informs our criminal defense strategy at every stage.
- Reviews you can read for yourself. More than 500 people have reviewed the firm on Google, where anyone can read what they wrote. You can read our Google reviews and look for what clients mention most often.
- Results we can point to. Our case results page describes outcomes in past cases. Every case turns on its own facts, and a past result does not predict the next one.
Some of these credentials belong to individual attorneys and not to the firm as a whole, and we describe them that way. If you have a question about any of them, ask us at your free consultation.
Fair Defense
Our Practice Areas
Texas judges have wide discretion in dividing property, setting custody and deciding spousal maintenance. How a contested divorce or custody case turns out depends heavily on how well each side’s evidence is documented, how clearly the legal arguments are framed and whether the lawyer in the courtroom has the credibility to be taken seriously in negotiation and at trial. Before you hire a family law lawyer, ask who will handle your case in court, how often they try contested cases and how they will keep you informed.
Our family law teams handle divorce and legal separation, child custody and support, property and debt division, spousal maintenance, modifications and enforcement of court orders, and mediation. We prepare for mediation the way we prepare for trial, because a signed mediated settlement agreement is binding. Choose the office nearest you:
- Family law attorney in San Antonio for Bexar County
- Austin family law attorney for Travis County
- Corpus Christi family law attorney for Nueces County
Criminal cases are shaped in the first hours after an arrest, long before trial. Whether to speak with investigators, how to handle bond conditions, what evidence to preserve and which deadlines are already running are all easier decisions with a lawyer beside you. After a DWI arrest, for example, the window to contest a driver’s license suspension is short, and it closes whether or not anyone has told you about it.
Our criminal defense attorneys handle misdemeanors and felonies, including DWI, drug, assault and family violence, weapons, sex crime, theft and fraud, probation violation and homicide cases, in state court and in federal court. Choose the office nearest you:
- San Antonio criminal defense attorney for Bexar County
- Austin criminal defense attorney for Travis County
- Criminal defense attorney in Corpus Christi for Nueces County
The most common mistake after a serious accident is giving a recorded statement to the other side’s insurance adjuster before talking to a lawyer. Adjusters are trained to gather statements that limit what the company pays. Texas generally gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, but the practical deadline for preserving evidence is measured in days. Video is overwritten, vehicles are repaired and witnesses’ memories fade.
Our personal injury attorneys handle car and truck wrecks, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, premises and workplace injuries, wrongful death and catastrophic injuries, including brain and spinal cord injuries. Choose the office nearest you:
- San Antonio personal injury lawyer for Bexar County
- Injury attorney in Austin for Travis County
- Personal injury attorney in Corpus Christi for Nueces County
Barton & Associates
Credentials, Offices and Your First Call
Many firms describe themselves with the same words. A more useful question is what a firm can show you. These are the credentials held by our attorneys, and each can be checked.
- Board Certified in Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Gary J. Barton holds this certification. It requires substantial trial experience in criminal cases, review by other attorneys and judges, and a written examination. The certification is Gary’s own and is limited to criminal law. You can confirm it in the State Bar of Texas directory listing.
- AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell. Gary also holds this peer review rating, which Martindale-Hubbell gives for high ethical standards and legal ability as judged by other lawyers and judges.
- Best Lawyers in America. Gary has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America, a peer-review publication.
- Prosecution experience. Gary was a Capital Murder prosecutor before he became a defense lawyer, and that history is part of how we evaluate every serious criminal case.
Barton & Associates has three offices, and the same standards for client communication and case preparation apply at each.
- San Antonio. Our main office is at 115 Camaron Street, San Antonio, Texas 78205, in downtown San Antonio. Call 210-500-0000.
- Austin. Our Austin office is at 316 W 12th St, Suite 400, Austin, Texas 78701. Visits are by appointment. Call 512-THE-FIRM (843-3476).
- Corpus Christi. Our Corpus Christi office is at 5110 Wilkinson Dr, Suite 210, Corpus Christi, Texas 78415. Visits are by appointment. Call 361-800-6780.
Our attorneys represent clients in Bexar, Travis and Nueces Counties, in nearby counties when a case requires it and in federal court. Directions to each office are in the map links further down this page.
Your first consultation with us is free and confidential. Call 210-500-0000, email Info@BartonLawOffice.com or complete the Free Consultation form, and tell us what happened. We will listen, tell you honestly whether we can help and explain the options we see based on the facts you give us. We do not pressure anyone to hire us during that conversation.
Bring or have ready any papers you were given: charging documents, citations, bond paperwork, court notices, a divorce petition, a protective order or insurance letters. Add dates, names, photographs and messages if you have them. Tell us the facts that seem unfavorable, too. A strategy built without them breaks down when they come out later.
If the matter is urgent, such as an arrest, a bond hearing or a court date this week, call us instead of sending a form. For clients in Austin or Corpus Christi, call the local office number listed under Offices. To see what happens after that first call, read about Your Legal Journey with the firm.
