Benjamin Gergen

I am a third-generation attorney, born and raised in Austin, Texas. You could say I grew up rooting for the underdog. Despite growing up surrounded by Longhorns, by the age of 10 I had become a diehard Texas Tech Red Raider fan.

My dreams came true, and I attended Texas Tech University and received a bachelor’s degree in Finance, but quickly realized my talents were better put to use in the courtroom by following my bloodlines and becoming an attorney. I came back to Austin and enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law. While at UT, I interned in the Juvenile Justice Clinic, helping indigent juvenile defendants navigate their way through the juvenile courts. I quickly realized this was my passion and that my personality and skill set were a perfect match for this profession.  

A good criminal defense attorney is patient, empathetic, understanding, but firm. A good criminal defense attorney uses his or her own personal experiences to craft solutions to complex problems that can change in an instant. I possess this skillset and it gives me and my clients the advantage when we go into court. After overcoming my own personal struggles with addiction at a young age, and watching as close friends and family members dealt with substance abuse issues of their own, I, more than most others, realize that for some a crime is the result of one bad decision, and for many others, a crime is the ultimate result of addiction, mental illness, or both.

I am lucky to live and solely practice in a progressive county, and I am able to help give my clients desirable results by working closely with prosecutors and judges. I give the state confidence that when my clients address the root of the problem that led to the crime (i.e., substance abuse causing someone to burglarize a house to support a drug habit) via treatment or psychiatric care, the act won’t be repeated in the future.  

When you hire me, it is the State of Texas v. Us. I take pride in being the underdog going up against all of the resources of the State of Texas. I take pride in adding you to my team, and view each client as a potential lifelong friend and teammate. My number one goal in beating your case is to humanize you to the state. At my firm, you are not a cause number but a human being. It can be easy for the state to send a cause number to prison, but it is much more difficult to send a hard-working single mother of three. When you hire me, we will address how you got to our office, what your goals for the future are, and immediately devise a plan that will give you confidence that your case will ultimately have an outcome that we are all satisfied with.

I pride myself on only taking cases in Travis County. I do this because in this county, it is never too late to change. I have saved countless clients facing years to life in prison and given them a second chance. These clients never dreamed that they would be able to avoid prison, but I can help you achieve that. It’s important to remember, however, that all probation is, is one foot in, and one foot out. If you are able to follow the treatment plan I give you, you will continue to remain free in our community.  

By only taking cases in Travis County, I see the same prosecutors and judges every day and have built unique relationships over years which benefit you as my client. I have seen the same fact patterns over and over, and generally know from our first phone consultation how a case will play out. This helps you avoid the unexpected and unknown, which is often the scariest part of the criminal justice process for a defendant.

It is my hope that when you walk through my office door you immediately feel confident in me and my team, and when you walk out, you walk out with knowledge that you are in the best possible hands.