Gunter, Bennett & Anthes: The Firm Where Every Partner Started as a Travis County Prosecutor

TO OUR READERS: This profile is independent editorial content produced by Awesome Attorneys. Gunter, Bennett & Anthes, PC did not pay for, commission, sponsor, or review this article, and inclusion in this series cannot be purchased. Nothing here is legal advice, an endorsement, or a recommendation to hire any lawyer; readers should evaluate counsel independently and may verify any Texas attorney’s license and discipline history through the State Bar of Texas at texasbar.com. Facts are drawn from the sources identified in the Methodology section and were verified as of August 2026.

AT A GLANCE

I. A Firm Where Every Partner Started as a Travis County Prosecutor

Gunter, Bennett & Anthes is unusual in this series for a specific structural reason: not just the lead attorney but all three named partners began their careers as prosecutors in Travis County before moving to the defense side. Chris Gunter served as chief of the trial division at both the Travis County Attorney’s Office and later the District Attorney’s Office; Alan Bennett, who joined the firm in 1992, and Gene Anthes, who joined in 2007, were both Assistant County or Assistant District Attorneys. That means the firm’s institutional knowledge of how Travis County prosecutors actually build cases isn’t concentrated in one name partner, it’s shared across the firm’s leadership.

II. Nearly Forty Years of Board Certification, From Capital Murder to Public Intoxication

Chris Gunter has held Board Certification in Criminal Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1985, one of the longer-tenured active certifications documented in this series, and has tried cases spanning the full severity range from capital murder to public intoxication. That combination, a specific certification date nearly four decades old and documented trial experience at both extremes of the criminal severity spectrum, is disclosed here as a genuine, checkable credential rather than a general “decades of experience” claim.

III. Practice Areas

• DWI/DUI defense
• Drug offenses
• Assault and domestic violence
• Weapons charges
• Violent crimes (including murder, sexual assault, and child-related offenses)
• Parole representation (statewide)
• Federal criminal defense

IV. Case Outcomes

The firm’s materials describe its trial history in terms of case type and severity range (capital murder to public intoxication) rather than publishing an itemized list of individual dismissals or sentencing outcomes with specific figures; that structure, and the absence of a comprehensive published results table, is disclosed here rather than filled in with unverified specifics.

V. The Client Voice

The firm holds 29 reviews on Yelp. One client, describing a 2015 case handled by Gene Anthes, wrote that Anthes “got everything settled, and still to this day assists me with any questions or legal matters regarding that same case,” adding “it truly feels like once you hire Gene he will help you for life.” No pattern of negative or unresolved reviews was located for this firm as of this research date.

VI. Community and Local Presence

The firm’s parole representation practice, extending statewide rather than limited to Travis County, reflects a specific, documented service extension beyond standard trial-level criminal defense. All three partners’ shared origin as Travis County prosecutors also reflects a sustained, multi-decade institutional relationship with the county’s criminal justice system specifically.

VII. Credentials and Recognition

Christopher Gunter is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, held since 1985, a genuine peer- and exam-based credential. Gene Anthes was named to Austin Monthly’s 2025 “Top Attorneys” list, a recognition the publication states is determined exclusively through peer nomination, with legal professionals unable to pay for inclusion, a distinction worth noting given how many marketing-program awards exist in this space. Three of the firm’s attorneys have been selected to Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists. These are third-party, peer-reviewed credentials distinguished here from marketing-program awards.

VIII. The Texas Legal Backdrop

In Texas, a first-offense DWI is generally a Class B misdemeanor, escalating with aggravating factors under Texas Penal Code Chapter 49. Parole representation, part of the firm’s documented practice, involves a distinct administrative process before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, separate from a criminal trial itself. Weapons charges, another documented practice area, carry varying severity levels under Texas Penal Code Chapter 46 depending on the specific circumstances and the defendant’s criminal history. None of this is legal advice; consult a licensed Texas attorney about your specific situation.

IX. The Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Gunter, Bennett & Anthes’s structural strength is genuine, distributed institutional knowledge: not a single former prosecutor now doing defense work, but three named partners who each independently built careers inside the Travis County prosecutor’s office before joining forces, anchored by one of the longest-held active board certifications documented in this series. For a client who wants a firm with deep, multi-person institutional knowledge of how Travis County actually prosecutes cases, that combination is a genuine, checkable asset.

The honest limitation is one worth naming for any firm built around a small partnership: a prospective client should confirm which specific partner or associate will handle their matter, since the firm’s shared prosecutorial background, while a genuine strength, doesn’t guarantee that any one partner’s individual caseload capacity matches a given client’s timeline.

X. Methodology & Sources

This profile was researched and written independently by Awesome Attorneys in August 2026 without the participation, sponsorship, or payment of Gunter, Bennett & Anthes, PC. Primary source: the firm’s website gbafirm.com (our firm, home). Verification sources: Super Lawyers attorney and firm profiles (certification history, recognition); Yelp business listing (current address, client reviews); press release confirming Gene Anthes’s 2025 Austin Monthly recognition. Statutes cited in Section VIII were verified against the Texas Constitution and Statutes database (statutes.capitol.texas.gov).

Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal-directory publisher. This profile was not paid for by Gunter, Bennett & Anthes, and inclusion in our editorial coverage cannot be purchased. Awesome Attorneys may separately offer premium sponsored placements to attorneys and firms; sponsorship status, where it exists, is always disclosed and does not alter the editorial content of a profile such as this one. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice or an attorney referral.