Duane Graeff

When a prospective client sits across from an attorney for the first time, the questions they are really asking are simple ones: Does this person know the law deeply enough to help me? Have they actually won cases like mine? And do they have the preparation and discipline to outwork the other side? For Managing Attorney Duane Graeff, the answers to all three questions are grounded in a career record that is genuinely rare in the Texas legal community. Duane brings over twenty-six years of active litigation experience to Barton & Associates, having been licensed by the State Bar of Texas since May 3, 1999. He is licensed to practice in both Texas state and federal courts, and his career spans the full landscape of civil and criminal litigation, with a concentrated focus on family law and criminal defense. He is not only one of San Antonio’s most experienced trial attorneys—he is also a published legal scholar, a former law professor and a decorated advocate whose academic honors rival his courtroom record. Clients who retain Duane Graeff are not simply hiring an attorney with a law degree and a bar card. They are hiring a litigator who has spent more than a quarter century mastering the craft of courtroom advocacy from every angle that matters. Duane Graeff’s academic record is among the most distinguished of any active litigator in San Antonio. He did not simply attend law school—he finished near the very top of his class and earned honors that are reserved for only the most exceptional legal scholars and advocates. His undergraduate career was equally strong, marked by Dean’s List recognition and induction into two prestigious academic honor societies. What these distinctions signal to a prospective client is worth spelling out plainly. Graduating ninth in a law school class, earning a place on the Law Review as an Articles Editor, and being inducted into the Order of Barristers are not ceremonial honors. They reflect an attorney whose written legal analysis, oral advocacy and command of legal precedent were formally measured against his peers and found to be among the best. That same precision and discipline is what Duane Graeff brings to every brief, every motion and every argument he makes on behalf of a client today. With more than twenty-six years of continuous legal practice, Duane Graeff has tried cases across the full spectrum of civil and criminal litigation. He has won numerous jury trials and successfully argued multiple appeals through both written briefs and oral argument—a combination of skills that requires genuine mastery of both the trial courtroom and the appellate process. Before joining Barton & Associates as Managing Attorney, Duane built his reputation through years of independent practice and litigation in multiple Texas jurisdictions, including Travis County and surrounding Central Texas courts. He has handled cases at every level of complexity, from straightforward misdemeanor matters to high-stakes contested litigation where the outcome meaningfully changed the trajectory of a client’s life. The five years Duane spent as an adjunct law professor deserve particular attention for anyone evaluating his qualifications. Teaching law—not just practicing it—requires a mastery of legal doctrine that goes well beyond knowing how to win individual cases. It requires the ability to explain complex legal concepts clearly, to anticipate how arguments will be challenged and to understand the theoretical underpinnings of the rules that govern how courts reach decisions. That depth of legal knowledge informs how Duane constructs arguments, writes briefs and prepares clients for what they will face in court.