Gilbert C. Barrera, Jr. holds a BA in English and JD both from St. Mary’s University, and a BBA in Accounting and MPA (Federal Tax) both from UTSA.  He has been a CPA since October of 1982 and an attorney since November 1988.  He has been a member of the Texas Bar College since 2022.

He is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Texas A&M-San Antonio and has been teaching for thirteen years. Along with qualified accounting students, since 2018 he has conducted forensic accounting analyses on active criminal investigations for the White Collar Crime Unit of the San Antonio Police Department.  In 2018, he was awarded the Texas Society of CPAs Outstanding Accounting Educator Award which is awarded annually to one accounting professor statewide at the intermediate-sized university level.  In 2021, he was awarded the Texas A&M-San Antonio Mays Center For Experiential Learning and Community Involvement award for his work with interns at the San Antonio Police Dept. White Collar Crime Unit.  In May 2025, he was awarded the Outstanding Mentor Medal from among the faculty in the Accounting/Finance Dept. of the College of Business.

His professional experience as a CPA includes work as a sole proprietor CPA while earning his MPA and his JD.  This work included tax return preparation, write up services, consultation services with the City of San Antonio, testifying in state and federal court as a forensic accountant, investigation and analyses involving corporate fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and conducting cross examination in depositions.   

His professional experience as an attorney includes 2 years as an Assistant Attorney General of Texas in the Tax Division, and 22 years’ experience as a prosecutor in both Travis County and Bexar County.  In this time, he prosecuted approximately 100 jury trials as lead prosecutor.  As a prosecutor in Austin, he was assigned to some of the most politically sensitive cases to prosecute to jury trial - not the least of which was State Representative Sergio Munoz Sr., and State Senator Drew Nixon who, in 1995, was the first state wide official in state history to be sentenced to jail time while still in office. 

Two of his cases are reported in the Southwestern Reporter.  He won both of them and resulted in the Third Court of Appeals designating these cases as mandatory precedent.  One he prosecuted by jury trial in 1999, wrote the appellate brief for, and argued before the Third Court of Appeals cited as Webber v. State of Texas, 21 S.W.3d 726.  This case was decided on June 15, 2000 and has since been cited as authority in 33 cases decided by various Courts of Appeals of Texas throughout the state, one brief filed by attorneys before the Texas Supreme Court, one brief filed by attorneys before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 10 law reviews including the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism (16 Yale J.L. & Feminism 1), Stanford Law Journal (65 Stan. L. Rev. 565), and The Texas Criminal Appellate Advocate (15 App. Advoc. 59) which  is primarily a professional resource for Texas appellate lawyers, judges, and legal professionals who specialize in criminal appeals.   

Another case he litigated in 1992, as an Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division, and wrote the appellate brief for, cited as First State Bank of Dumas v. Sharp, 863 S.W.2d 81.  This case was decided on February 3, 1993 and has since been cited as authority in one case decided by the Texas Supreme Court (R Communications v. Sharp, 875 S.W.2d 314), 5 cases decided by various Courts of Appeals of Texas, and one Texas Attorney General Opinion (2005 Tex. Op. Atty Gen. GA-0370).