Mark Allen Hansford

For 3 years I had a DUI charge looming over me and threatening my record -- threatening my future. Mark fought to help me beat a dishonest police officer and a court that wanted me to plead guilty and wear this scarlet letter for the rest of my life. After I was pulled over for driving recklessly... -- which was completely untrue and later proven as such -- I, mistakenly, submitted to a breathe test because I knew I wasn't impaired after one beer—I blew a 0.081. My arrest was the first time I had ever been in trouble with the law; I've never even received a speeding ticket. Yet, Fulton County wouldn't budge to reduce my charges of DUI per se/less safe and reckless driving. The prosecutor and judge wanted to throw the book at me, but Mark and I wouldn't let them. So, we went to trial. Mark exposed the prosecution's witness testimony as inaccurate and contradictory, as well as the faults within the police department's antiquated testing equipment which Mark proved, by the state's own admission no less, as having up to a 5% variance. The prosecution subsequently dropped the DUIs and reckless driving charges, leaving me to plead no contest to running a red light (illegal right on red apparently). I am forever grateful and thankful to Mark because he stood up for me when I needed it the most. After my 3 long years of motion hearings and calendar calls, during which I saw people enter guilty pleas due to their sheer exhaustion from the legal process, Mark gave me the confidence and will to keep fighting. I highly recommend Mark if you are looking for an attorney that truly cares about his clients. If you are looking for legal representation, Mark Hansford is one of the best in Georgia.

I was pulled over by a law enforcement agent for speeding (I was exiting a highway - the officer VISUALLY determined that I was doing 65mph on the off-ramp which has a speed limit of 45 mph). The officer was convinced that I was driving under the influence, though I thoroughly and repeatedly answere...d his questions. I refused field and breathalizer tests and was therefore arrested. I was recommended to Mark by a friend, and I called him after being released on bond. Mark was very responsive and agreed to see me the next day. We discussed the situation and he immediately put my mind at ease. His knowledge of the process and the ACTUAL OFFICER involved in my case was reassuring. After our conference, we both agreed that we had a strong case, and that we would work together. Mark was very up-front about the fees, costs, potential risks / rewards, and I left my first appointment feeling very optimistic. With Mark's professional representation, my overall involvement was limited to 2 meetings at the local courthouse and the final plea deal. He took care of everything. The D.U.I. was dropped and my only citation was for speeding. Mark literally save me thousands of dollars in fees, insurance, court costs, etc. I also was not forced to miss time off of work, because he and his team would do the heavy lifting without needing me to be involved with every turn of events. Getting arrested for D.U.I. is incredibly stressful. This was my first arrest for anything let alone a D.U.I. Mark made the process as unintimidating as I could have ever imagined. His knowledge of the local and county courts and his expertise in dealing with the individuals involved was instrumental in my case's success. I highly recommend Mark Hansford!

I have referred many people to attorney Mark Hansford and will continue to do so. Mark is an intelligent, skilled and experienced attorney who cares about his clients. Mark is a true professional who strives to meet and exceed his client's needs. I would highly recommend Mark to anyone in need of ...a top-notch, excellent criminal attorney.

I hired Mark after firing my then current attorney representing me on charges of DUI and possession of less than a gram of heroin. I felt abandoned by my previous attorney, and I believed I was going to be excessively punished due to his poor reputation. I had hired Mark a couple years before to repr...esent me on a previous DUI charge, and I was quite pleased with his service. Therefore, I quickly hired him again after firing the other attorney. Mark was hired more than a year after the arrest when the case was being called for trial calendar call. So, Mark was picking this case up without much time to prepare. First, when dealing with Mark I felt like he genuinely wants the best for your case. This sounds obvious, but you get the feeling like he cares about your case as if he was one of your long time friends. This made me feel extremely comfortable and relaxed about the already extremely stressful situation. I always felt up to date about the happenings of my case. I was contacted very regularly by either Mark himself or his assistant Massee with updates. I visited his office several times (I live a few miles from his office), and I always felt welcomed. They would take the time to talk to me and reassure me. When it came down to negotiating my case I believe Mark got the absolute best possible outcome for me given the situation. The prosecutor wanted me to spend 6 months in jail despite this being my first major offense (despite a previous DUI). My previous attorney before Mark had, in my opinion, a reputation as being arrogant and rude, and I was going to get a harsh sentence just to make him look bad. I do not know if this is factually true, but I believe it to be with all my conviction. Mark stepped in and began negotiating with the prosecutor as soon as I hired him. The prosecutor's stance quickly changed due to Mark's negotiations. I ended up taking a plea deal that included DUI and First-Offender probation. I do have to serve 45 days in jail however. I totally believe that I would be sentenced to time served (2 weeks) if I had hired Mark in the first place. I believe that once the prosecutor had in her mind initially that I was going to serve 6 months just to make my previous attorney look bad that it was impossible to get her to back off completely. Mark got the jail time to be sentenced under my misdemeanor DUI charge which made me eligible for 2-for-1 jail time. My license was also only suspended for 120 days with 8 months of Ignition Interlock after that instead of the 12 months hard suspension. The other big negotiation was that my report date to jail was pushed back in order to allow me to finish a college class I was taking at the time. This helped me out tremendously since I would have had to drop the class and retake it later. Dealing with Mark was extremely pleasurable and comforting given the circumstances. I went from being in a nightmare scenario with my previous attorney to what I believe was the best possible scenario. I am also satisfied with the outcome of my case, once again, given the circumstances. I would highly recommend Mark. My only regret was not hiring Mark sooner.