About The Brunner Law Firm

Meet The Attorney

Mark Brunner

Founding Attorney

I founded The Brunner Law Firm because I believed criminal defense work could be done better. Too often, people facing charges find themselves at the cheapest mill-style firm where their file gets passed from one associate to the next, or at a high-volume defender's office where the lawyer first reads the offense report in the hallway outside the courtroom. Neither approach gives the case what it needs.

My practice is built around taking a manageable caseload, getting to know each client's situation in depth, and bringing the kind of preparation that lets us argue from facts rather than hope. I handle every case personally from the first consultation through resolution.

Licensed to practice in Texas state courts
Practice focused exclusively on criminal defense
Regular practitioner in Williamson, Travis, and surrounding counties
Member, State Bar of Texas, Criminal Law Section
Trained in trial advocacy, evidence, and Texas criminal procedure

Our Philosophy

How We Approach Criminal Defense

Listen First

Before we form opinions about a case we listen to the person who is living it. The offense report tells one version of events. The body camera footage tells another. The client's account fills in the parts neither captures. We do not assume we understand a case until we have heard all three.

Prepare Relentlessly

Criminal cases reward preparation more than almost any other area of legal practice. Discovery review, video analysis, witness interviews, lab report scrutiny, and motion practice all happen well before trial dates. Cases that go well are the ones where the work was done early.

Negotiate From Strength

Most criminal cases in Texas resolve through some form of negotiated outcome. The leverage available in those negotiations depends almost entirely on what the prosecutor sees across the table. A lawyer who has filed motions, identified weaknesses in the state's case, and made clear they are ready to try the file gets different offers than a lawyer who has done none of those things.

Try When We Need To

Some cases need to be tried. When a client is innocent, when the state's offer is worse than the realistic risk at trial, or when there are constitutional issues a jury should hear about, we go to trial. The willingness to do that is what gives our negotiated outcomes their credibility.

Tell The Truth

Clients deserve honest assessments of their cases, not sales pitches. If the evidence is bad we say so. If a plea offer is reasonable we explain why. If trial is the right call we lay out the realistic range of outcomes including the bad ones. Hard truths beat false promises every time.

Where We Work

Serving Texas Clients

Williamson County

Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, Hutto, Taylor. Our home base and the courts we appear in most frequently.

Travis County

Austin and surrounding areas. State district courts, county courts at law, municipal matters.

Surrounding Counties

Bell, Bastrop, Hays, Burnet, Milam. We accept cases throughout Central Texas based on circumstances.