Georgia Super Lawyers

Attorney Michael M. (Mike) Hawkins has received the nationally acclaimed Super Lawyers® award every year since 2004, and is one of only four lawyers to receive the award in the state of Georgia in the narrow and highly competitive category of Drunk Driving Defense in 2009-2010.

AV Eminent Attorney

Attorney Michael M. Hawkins holds an AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Board Certified DUI Defense Attorney

Attorney Michael M. Hawkins is one of only four drunk driving defense lawyers in Georgia to have earned certification by the prestigious National College for DUI Defense (NCDD).

National College for DUI Defense Board of Regents

In January of 2008, Attorney Michael M. Hawkins was unanimously elected to serve on the Board of Regents for the National College for DUI Defense. The Board of Regents develops the curriculum of the NCDD to educate drunk driving defense attorneys and increase their expertise in defending people accused of DUI and related offenses.  The NCDD holds several national seminars to train hundreds of DUI lawyers every year. The 13-member Board of Regents consists of defense attorneys recognized as some of the nation's top DUI defense lawyers.

DUI Defense Experience

Criminal trials, plea negotiations, and a life committed to defending people charged with alcohol and drug related offenses provided Attorney Michael Hawkins with the experience required for Certification as one of Georgia's leading DUI Defense attorneys. That rigorous testing process was surpassed much quicker for Mike than most attorneys, perhaps due in part to his years of preparation for trials as a prosecutor in Atlanta, Georgia; the more than 200 cases for which he served as lead counsel; his appointment to the Prosecuting Attorney's Council Faculty in 1995; and the many seminars he has taught for both prosecutors and defense attorneys across the United States.

Mike credits much of his success in defending DUI, alcohol, and drug-related cases to his experience as a DUI prosecutor and his commitment to out-preparing the prosecution.

Legal & Undergraduate Education

University of Alabama (B. A., 1989); Emory University School of Law (J. D., 1992). Successfully completed the National College for DUI Defense, Summer Curriculum at Harvard Law School (July 1997), Board Certified in DUI Defense by the National College for DUI Defense (February 2001).

DUI Seminars, Training, Teaching

Attorney Hawkins is a frequent lecturer on DUI defense in the United States and has trained lawyers in California, Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New York, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas.  For nine years, Attorney Hawkins served as the Chairperson for the ICLE Handling Administrative Drivers License Suspensions and Revocations Seminar which trains Georgia lawyers in techniques to save their clients' drivers license.